Lamas recalls Fazekas and Hachimura for Asian Qualifiers fourth window
TOKYO (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Japan national team head coach Julio Lamas is not pulling any punches as Japan call up their very best for the fourth window of the Asian Qualifier
TOKYO (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Japan national team head coach Julio Lamas is not pulling any punches as Japan call up their very best for the fourth window of the Asian Qualifiers.
Not surprisingly, headlining Japan's 24-man pool for the next window are the national team's top two players from the third window - Nick Fazekas and Rui Hachimura.
| Japan 24-man pool for the Asian Qualifiers fourth window | |||
| Yudai Baba | Ira Brown | Nick Fazekas | Takatoshi Furukawa |
| Rui Hachimura | Aren Hachimura | Tenketsu Harimoto | Makoto Hiejima |
| Gen Hiraiwa | Yuya Kamata | Naoya Kumagae | Taichi Nakamura |
| Takanobu Nishikawa | Atsuya Ota | Ryusei Shinoyama | Joji Takeuchi |
| Daiki Tanaka | Chikara Tanaka | Yuki Togashi | Naoto Tsuji |
| Naoki Uto | Leo Vendrame | Hugh Watanabe | Yuta Watanabe |
The Akatsuki Five went 2-0 in the last Asian Qualifiers window, bringing Australia to their knees and upending Chinese Taipei to barge into the second round and keep their hopes of qualifying for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 still alive.
#アジア競技大会 #閉会式#銅メダル を獲得した #AkatsukiFive#バスケットボール #女子日本代表 はゲロラ・ブン・カルノ・スタジアムで
— 日本バスケットボール協会(JBA) (@JAPANBASKETBALL) September 3, 2018
行われた閉会式に参加。
本日、帰国の途に着きます。
次は世界でメダル獲得を目指す
トップチームが#FIBA女子ワールドカップ2018
に挑みます！#FIBAWC
Fazekas led the team in scoring with 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, while the 6ft 8in (2.03m) Hachimura announced his entry to the senior level of international basketball with aplomb, averaging 18.5 points and 5.0 boards per contest. Both have been called to the national pool anew along with US NCAA product and NBA hopeful Yuta Watanabe.
The 6ft 9in (2.05m) Watanabe has yet to play in the Asian Qualifiers, but should he be available, the Japanese would have one of the most versatile big men in Asia. He would be a prime complement to both Fazekas and Hachimura and should be a matchup nightmare for Japan's next two foes - Kazakhstan and Iran.
Mainstays Makoto Hiejima, Daiki Tanaka, Joji Takeuchi and Ryusei Shinoyama remain on the pool, while playmaking wizard Yuki Togashi has been included alongside dependable role players Naoto Tsuji and Tenketsu Harimoto.
A curious addition is former volleyball player Hugh Watanabe, who at 6ft 10in (2.07m), can provide serious ceiling for the usually undersized Japanese. Young guns Yudai Baba, Gen Hiraiwa, Chikara Tanaka and Rui's younger brother, Aren Hachimura may also make enough of an impact to be included in the final 12-man rosters for Japan's fourth window matches.
Japan first fly to Almaty and play Kazakhstan at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace on 13 September before heading back home to host Iran at the Ota City General Gymnasium on 17 September.
FIBA