
Matthew Aquino played almost four minutes in his international debut as Japan defeated Taiwan, 76-71, in their FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers match held Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Okinawa Arena.
The son of PBA legend Marlou Aquino produced two points off a pair of foul shots and grabbed one rebound while committing one turnover and three fouls during his short appearance held before home supporters in the Japanese city.
Aquino watched from the sidelines as the Akatsuki Five needed to separate themselves from the Taiwanese in the final moments to barge into the win column after dropping all of their two matches during the first window last November.
Playing in competitions like the World Cup Qualifiers is a dream come true for Aquino, who is eligible to represent Japan since he traces his roots from his maternal grandmother.
He failed to see action in November despite being named to the Japanese pool, but was inserted in the 12-man lineup for the Akatsuki Five’s first match of the February window.
Yudai Nishida topscored for Japan with 27 points while naturalized player Luke Evans contributed 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
Kuei-Yu Chou scored 21 points and naturalized player Will Artino added 15 for Taiwan.