SHENZHEN (China) - Regret could be seen all over Stephanie Mawuli after taking the final shot for Japan in another tightly contested match versus China in the gold medal game of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023.
She actually sank the three-pointer off the catch to beat the buzzer. But it was a case of too little, too late as they ultimately lost by way of a 73-71 decision, bringing a heartbreaking end to their reign as champions.
Mind you, it wasn't just an ordinary reign. That loss put to a screeching halt to their bid of conquering the continent's most prestigious women's basketball event for a record-extending sixth consecutive time.
Yes, no team in the history of the competition was able to win it five in a row and as if that wasn't impressive enough, the traditional powerhouse wanted to stretch as much. But it wasn't meant to be, simply put.
Making it even tougher to fathom was the fact that their rule ended at the hands of a long-time basketball rival, whom they beat thrice during their dominion that began back in 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Mawuli herself was part of the batch that beat Team Dragon in the Final to secure the 'five-peat' in 2021 in Jordan, scoring 13 in the 78-73 victory. She finished with averages of 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals.
It was a pretty solid start to her seniors career and she even upped her numbers come the 2023 contest, tallying a team-leading 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.0 steals in 24.5 minutes of action.
But none of that mattered for her as they fell short of accomplishing their one true goal. Add to that her sub-par showing in the title bout, where he only had 9 points on 14 attempts although she had 5 steals.
It was a bummer for her personally, given that she came off a commendable outing in the Semi-Finals where she poured 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists to lead the way in their 88-52 rout of New Zealand.
And that loss in the Final seemingly affected her.
Her numbers fluctuated in their next two major outings. After posting 8.0 points in the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Hungary, she could only muster 3.7 points in the Paris Olympics.
Worse, the Japanese finished dead last among the 12 nations that competed in sport's grandest stage, indeed a massive fall-off after clinching a historic silver medal during the previous Summer Games in Tokyo.
Since then, though, Mawuli has been doing what she can to regain her old ways.
That was evident during the 2024-25 FIBA EuroLeague Women. The native of Toyohashi, Aichi led the Casademont Zaragoza in scoring with 11.6 points, all while norming 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 26.5 minutes of play.
It was also proof of her willingness to embrace a bigger role as those stats were a marked improvement from her time with Movistar Estudiantes in the 2023-24 EuroCup Women where she tallied 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Now, it would all be about sustaining her form in the upcoming Women's Asia Cup scheduled on July 13-20, which she is coming into with so much to prove after that stinging defeat two years ago.
It's never easy to move on from a loss as heartbreaking as what she and the squad suffered, knowing that the success of dynastic proportions Team Japan had built for half a decade came crumbling down hard.
But the beauty of sport is that redemption could always be found, and the upcoming tilt should just be what Mawuli needs to finally exorcise the ghost of the past and, more importantly, bring the tiara back home.
No doubt that their Shenzhen trip would be personal for her.
FIBA
