Horvath HC responds at Japan Men’s National Team media day [写真]=Basketball King
Basketball information site
On November 13th, a media day was held at the Ajinomoto National Sports Center for the Japan Men’s National Team (ranked 21st in the FIBA rankings) in preparation for the “FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifying Window 2.”
After practice, head coach Tom Horvath spoke to the media about the training camp being held for the first time since he was appointed to continue as manager, saying, “Because it was during the B League, there were a lot of players who were tired and some minor injuries. Because of that, it looks like we’ll have a lot of young members, but we’re doing our best.I’m confident.”
Yuki Kawamura (Memphis Grizzlies), who served as a playmaker at the World Cup and the Paris Olympics, is not participating in this lineup. Additionally, it was announced today that Teves Umi (Alvark Tokyo), who participated in the Paris Olympics, will not be participating, and currently Yuki Togashi (Chiba Jets) is the only one guaranteed to be in the PG slot. However, Horvath doesn’t seem to view this situation as negative.
“There are a lot of guard players this time. There are a lot of interesting players, such as Takanari Sasaki, Sota Oura (both Sanen Neo Phoenix), Shuntoshi Maki (Osaka Evessa), and Takuto Nakamura (Hiroshima Dragonflies).So far Togashi, Kawamura, Teves, We have been using Yudai Nishida (Seahorse Mikawa), but we haven’t brought in any new players for about a year.If they can master the Japanese team’s system, I think they will become a valuable asset. The style is different, so I’m looking forward to it.”
At the end of the press conference, Horvath made a surprise announcement before reporters could ask him, “This time’s captain is Mako (Shin Hiejima).” When asked why, the commander said with a smile, “He has a long career and has a track record in Brex.When I talked to (previous captain) Togashi, he said, “I would love to do it.””
“At the beginning of practice today, I had the new members explain defense, but it was long and his voice was low (lol).But everyone respects him,” he said, praising the new captain’s performance.
