“I’m planning on playing tag for four years from now.”
Yuki Togashi said these words in the open atmosphere of Guam. What on earth does it mean?
The Japanese basketball team has made a fresh start heading into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This month’s Asian Cup qualifiers featured two matches.
At this time, Shin Hiejima, who has led the Japanese national team for about 12 years, announced his intention to retire from the national team. There were many factors and reasons for this, including the fact that this was the first time that a national team match would be held in Utsunomiya, the home base of his team, the Utsunomiya Brex, and he decided to play these two matches rather than the Paris Olympics.
“Meaning” contained in Togashi’s statement
Togashi, on the other hand, declared, “I will continue to compete for the Japanese national team.”
However, he has not said much about how he will feel going forward. The only glimpse of his intentions was when he said this after his first match against Mongolia.
“From now on, I want to play as if I were playing for the Chiba Jets.”
When I visited Guam for an away game, I asked him again about his true intentions.
“Actually, it’s not so much about the play as it is about the feelings.The fact that the Japanese national team (uniforms and activities) carry a lot of weight will never change.However, I think we should be a little more “easy”. and”
When you hear the word “easy” alone, it may sound like you’re abdicating your responsibility. Of course not.
This sense of responsibility and self-awareness was evident in this restarted activity.
For example, in their first game against Mongolia, Japan called a timeout with 1 minute 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but head coach Tom Horvath deliberately did not give any instructions. In the basketball world, HCs often take such actions to encourage players to be more aware and think independently.
At that time, Togashi was speaking to the young players as they returned from the court.
“During that time, I remembered the first game against China after Tom took over.It was like I couldn’t express the kind of basketball I wanted to play well.We were like that too.But just because I joined the national team, It’s not like they’ll suddenly become better at shooting, right? That’s why I wanted them to show off their strengths. I guess that’s what I told them.”
