Japan suffered a heavy 98-52 loss to Australia in the opening round of Asian qualifying for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Friday. University of Nebraska Omaha guard Keisei Tominaga was Japan’s lone spark, scoring a game-high 18 points off the bench, including 5-from-11 from behind the arc at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena. The hosts improved to a perfect five wins from five Group B games, while the Akatsuki Five dropped to 1-4, including an 80-64 defeat to Australia in their previous meeting at Okinawa Arena on Feb. 27. Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines have automatically qualified as …