Alright, let's buckle up and dive headfirst into this Olympic basketball showdown. And by showdown, I mean mildly engaging sports scrap, pitting Belgium against Japan.
Now Belgium looms as a formidable team, with Emma Meesseman and Julie Vanloo bringing up the rear, playing the same game they always do. Constant, reliable, like a well-oiled clock, but not really stimulating, is it? Although Meesseman's 24.5 points per game this season is hard to ignore.
On the other hand, we have Japan. Mai Yamamoto and Maki Takada, the dynamic duo scoring 17.0 and 19.5 respectively last month, are the star players. But the standout is undoubtedly Yamamoto's stats for this season. Infinity points, rebounds, and assists per game? Now that's impressive, even for her. It would be awfully hard to wrap your mind around that, if you took it seriously, which you shouldn't.
Unlike heartbreaks, we're all for repeating history here. Let's take a trip down memory lane. The last time these two teams met back in July of 2024, Belgium walked away smiling, having bagged the ball game 75-65. But again, history isn't always worth remembering, is it? At least not for Belgium. Their recent face-off against the USA and Germany ended in loss, tainting their 0-2 tournament record further.
Japan isn't exactly sitting pretty. They came off worse in recent games against Germany and the USA, also holding a slightly depressing 0-2 tournament record. We don’t know about rock bottom, but they can surely see it from where they stand now at number 4 in Group C.
So, ladies and gents, when you overlay all this exciting data, the result is as clear as my sarcasm. The outcome? Well, since we are playing by numbers, we're not expecting Mozart-style chaos here, with the symphony ultimately claiming triumph for Belgium. They hold steadier ground with a 10-point victory over Japan in the past and key players with slightly less surreal statistics.
Albert’s Prediction: Belgium by 10