The Nets were unable to complete a furious comeback against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night, but Yuta Watanabe still left the Barclays Center with a huge win.
Following the close loss on the court, the Brooklyn forward celebrated Japan's 3-2 victory over Team USA on the diamond. Japan won the World Baseball Classic for the third time in tournament history behind a dominant showing from Shohei Ohtani, who struck out Mike Trout, his MLB teammate, to close the game.
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Watanabe could be seen donning Ohtani's Angels jersey outside of the Nets' locker room. He told ESPN's Nick Friedell that he considers Ohtani a "friend" and described the two-time All-Star as a "god in Japan right now."
Yuta was beaming walking out of the Nets’ locker room after Ohtani struck out Trout and closed out WBC for Japan. He said he is friends with Ohtani and looks up to him.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) March 22, 2023
“He’s like God in Japan right now. Everybody looks up to him.” pic.twitter.com/kLeTD6m6UG
Ohtani was terrific throughout the WBC both as a hitter and pitcher. He finished the tournament with a slash line of .435/.606/.739 with four doubles and a home run at the plate, and he had a 1.86 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings on the mound.
His face-off with Trout only solidified his MVP case. Ohtani fired two fastballs right past Trout before sending him back to the dugout with a nasty slider.
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— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 22, 2023
Relive Shohei Ohtani vs Mike Trout in its entirety pic.twitter.com/8ln13dH3fC
As for how he expected those in his home country to react to the win, Watanabe had a simple answer.
"It's a great day for Japan. ... I know people are going crazy right now," Watanabe told Friedell. "How are they going to celebrate? I'm sure a lot of Japanese [are] drinking beers, alcohol right now."
