Riku Kanno leads the team with his game making and 3-point shooting.
Frisch Nicholas Saint, a key player on the inside
The Japan Men’s U18 National Team is continuing to strengthen its ranks in preparation for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, which will be held in Amman, Jordan this September. On March 28th, he will depart for a trip to Germany and participate in the “30th Albert Schweitzer Tournament” for the first time since 2018.
Japan ranks 30th in the youth world rankings, while most of the countries are ranked higher, including Australia (4th), Turkey (6th), Germany (10th), Slovenia (13th), and the Czech Republic (45th). Compete against teams in group leagues. The Czech Republic, which is the only team in the league, is led by head coach Torsten Loibl, who was previously in charge of the under category and is familiar with Japan.
Against a strong opponent, head coach Alejandro Martinez will continue to insist on “playing simply.” The Japanese style is to avoid the sound of dribbling reverberating throughout the court, and to pass the ball around to create chances for everyone, and to choose shots with a high probability. For that reason, communication is important, and the same goes for players and coaches. Head Coach Martinez said, “If you don’t understand something, ask the coach right away. If you need to tell him more than once, it’s the coach’s job to tell you that. He’s not a shy player, he’s an honest player. I hope that’s the case. Coaches like to talk about basketball, and there are no coaches who don’t mind being visited. A coach’s job is to help the players,” he said to the players, and he became closer to the players, leading to the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. Let’s try what we’ve strengthened.
Frisch Nicholas Sei (3rd year at Kaishi Kokusai High School) is a candidate for the Japan Men’s U16 National Team and has been participating in practices with head coach Martinez. “Foreign teams not only have big center players, but also players in the 3rd and 4th positions, so everyone has to be very conscious of boxing out and go out to get rebounds.Japanese teams are smaller than their opponents. I can move quickly, so I think my strength will be making breaks from the defense.”
Looking ahead to the Germany tour, Frisch said, “I may not be able to do much in terms of scoring, but I want to do my best with defense and boxing out that won’t show up in the stats.It’s natural to catch defensive rebounds, but I’m also going to make sure to also do offensive rebounds. I’m conscious of being able to interact with them,” he says, dedicating himself to his role. It is reassuring to be able to participate together with Kaishi Kokusai High School teammates Soryu Taira and Ginga Chiho. “We will all do our best to be selected,” said Frisch, emphasizing the future of FIBA U18. We will appeal for the Asia Cup.
Riku Kanno (Teikyo Asaka High School) said, “Japan doesn’t have the size, so I thought shooting from the outside will be very important.We need to improve our shooting power and play at our own pace.” I hope I can develop my skills.” This generation, who followed the Japanese men’s national team’s games as a role model, had an image of how to compete in international tournaments. During practice, Sugano made a lot of 3-point shots, and he said, “I want to perform to the best of my ability in Germany and try to get as many wins as possible,” as he takes on his first world experience.
■Japan match schedule (planned/Japan time)
March 30th 22:00 Japan vs Slovenia
March 31st 23:00 Japan vs Türkiye
April 1st 1:15am Japan vs Australia
April 3rd 23:30 Japan vs Czech Republic
April 4th 4:00am Japan vs Germany
April 5th Preliminary round
April 6th Final round
2024-03-29 08:50:13
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