TOKYO (Japan) - Japan's trio of main leaders Yuto Kawashima. Akira Jacobs and Taiga Okada will be joining the team this week for its second training camp ahead of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023.

Japan head coach Alejandro Martinez has called a total of 13 players to participate in the camp in Tokyo starting on Friday May 12. Kawashima. Jacobs and Okada did not take part in Japan's first training camp, which included 10 players and went from April 14-17.

Japan's training camp roster for the FIBA U19 Baksetball World Cup 2023

Shuntaro Buto, Akira Jacobs, Yuto Kawashima, Teruchika Naito, Eijiro Ogawa, Taiga Okada, Hiyu Ozawa, Kousei Sakamoto, Rui Todoroki, Hayato Wakugawa, Leon Watanabe, Shonryu Yaegash, Tetta Yamada

Twelve of the 13 nominees have already played in at least one FIBA competition as the squad will likely be a mix of the Japan teams who played at the FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2022, FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 and FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

Kawashima was Japan's leading scorer at all three tournaments last summer and was the top scorer and Most Valuable Player at the FIBA U16 Asian tourney and later in the summer ranked second in scoring at the U17 World Cup. This will be Kawashima's second U19 World Cup after he averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 2021 just weeks after turning 16 years old.

In addition, Kawashima was at the Japan senior team training camp for the February 2023 window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers though he was not selected for the rosters.

Considered one of Japan's next great young players, Kawashima in March 2023 left Ohori High School to join the NBA Global Academy in Australia. Jacobs, who played at the U18 Asian Championship last summer, is already at the NBA Global Academy. Okada meanwhile has spent his third season in Spain, playing in 2022-23 for Dragons Chlorella in the fourth division EBA league.

All three of the Japanese leaders also participated in the 2022 Basketball Without Borders Asia camp.

 
Shuntaro Buto, Eijiro Ogawa,  Teruchika Naito and Leon Watanabe played alongside Kawashima at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship and FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup last summer.  And Jacobs, Hiyu Ozawa, Kousei Sakamoto, Rui Todoroki, Hayato Wakugawa, Shonryu Yaegashi and Tetta Yamada were Kawashima's teammates at the FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2022.

Japan have been drawn into Group C of the 2023 U19 World Cup and will face Brazil, Egypt and Serbia.

FIBA