Despite dealing with fatigue from a lack of game practice and early shooting woes, a “fantastic” Yuta Watanabe needs to continue to play as he did in Japan’s opening loss to Germany at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, according to head coach Tom Hovasse.

Speaking after Germany triumphed 81-63 over the tournament co-host on Friday, Hovasse had nothing but praise for his star player, who had missed all of Japan’s World Cup warm-up games since spraining his ankle in an exhibition win over Angola on Aug. 15.

The Phoenix Suns swingman led Akatsuki Japan with 20 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal while looking like the only Japanese player able to go toe-to-toe with the star-studded German team for much of the first half at Okinawa Arena.

Watanabe claimed responsibility for Japan being outgunned early, having shot 2-from-10 from the three-point line and 9-from-19 overall for the game, but Hovasse said he wanted the 28-year-old to keep taking the same shots in the remaining Group E games against Finland and Australia.

“They were the exact shots we wanted. They just didn’t fall today,” Hovasse said.

The American coach said Watanabe made up for his lack of conditioning with a measured and tactically smart performance that helped Japan avoid a bigger deficit at a tournament where point differential can determine final standings.

“He started practicing the last three days. I mean, the guy’s not in game condition. But to play that controlled against a team like Germany, I thought he was fantastic,” Hovasse said.

“It was those rebounds, his defense, the blocks, and he played close to 30 minutes. So if you’re playing 30 minutes and you’re not in game shape, 100 percent game shape, you’re playing smart.”

With Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura sitting out the World Cup, which runs through Sept. 10 in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, the spotlight has focused on Watanabe as Akatsuki Japan’s only NBA representative.

Although his future in the world’s premier basketball league has not always looked certain, Watanabe’s toughness and willingness to continue adding new facets to his game have enabled him to carve out an NBA career.

Those qualities have also made him the linchpin at both ends of the floor for Japan, which must beat Finland on Sunday to keep alive its hopes of advancing from one of the World Cup’s toughest groups.

Watanabe said 36th-ranked Japan’s second-half performance against No. 11 Germany, in which it outscored the EuroBasket bronze medalist 32-28, would provide positive momentum against a No. 24 Finnish team led by Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen.

“There is no time to feel down,” Watanabe said Friday. “We have to get some rest, switch our focus to the next game and do everything we can to win.”

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