“It can’t be helped if there are players who can’t win all the time.”
On July 15, Suns’ Yuta Watanabe held a basketball clinic hosted by himself for 20 boys and 20 girls who belong to high school basketball clubs in Tokyo. The contents of the skill clinic held in the morning, the NBA-related quiz held during water supply, and the lecture on meals and game-style menu held in the afternoon were all thought up by Watanabe himself. At the end, he showed off his own shooting workout, dunking both with both hands and with one hand, wowing the audience.
After all the menus were finished, custom shoes signed by Watanabe were presented to students who answered the quiz correctly and who survived the game-style menu. It was a lot of content that exceeded the scheduled time by more than 30 minutes, but I was originally planning to participate in 5 vs 5, but I had to skip it because I had a slight pain in my left calf. Since it has been announced that he will join the national team on July 28, he is concerned about the condition of his injury, but he says that it is a minor injury. “I just hurt my left calf a little bit when I played a pick-up game in America.
“It’s not like there are so many restrictions on movement, but it’s not the time to push yourself too hard as you have to join the national team. It’s nothing serious, just being a little cautious.”
Also, at the clinic on that day, Watanabe wore shoes designed with the Japanese flag. This is what I have been wearing since the World Cup 2019 when I play for the national team, and there is a strong feeling that “carrying the Hinomaru is a responsibility and cannot be taken lightly.”
For the past four years, Watanabe has been playing the central role of the representative. With Rui Hachimura absent, it is clear that Watanabe is the absolute mainstay of the Japanese national team. And after the bitter experience of the past, he says that he wants to bring results this summer. “As a leader, I am in a position to help the team win, but in major international competitions, we have lost five straight in the previous World Cup and three in a row at the Tokyo Olympics. I think I have to.”
And Watanabe reveals a tragic resolution that cuts off the retreat. “None of us, whether players or spectators, want to lose, but if we end up losing streak again this time, I will take off the uniform of the national team. I’m putting it on.”
“It can’t be helped if there are players who can’t win all the time. In that case, there are a lot of good young players, so it would be better to change the generation as soon as possible. Bring the current team to the Paris Olympics. If I can’t do that, I carry the Hinomaru with the feeling that I’m no longer qualified to be a member of the national team.”
No one wants this summer’s World Cup to be the last time Watanabe wears a Japan national team jersey. In order to connect his determination to results, I hope that he will be able to welcome the main tournament in perfect condition.
2023-07-15 10:40:23
#Yuta #Watanabe #held #clinic #sponsored #strong #determination #national #team #ends #losing #streak #uniform #national #teamBasket #Count #Basket #Count
