The talent who will be the future representative of Japan won the tournament to decide the first champion under 15 years old. In the women’s final, Yokkaichi Melinor Gakuin (Mie) won the championship by beating Kyoto Seika Gakuen (Kyoto) 60-56 after the extension. The 192 cm large center Fukuo Kana (3rd year) and the captain Higashi Iroha (3rd year) fought tenaciously and decided to win the game in reverse from the inferiority. In the men’s final, Jonanchu (Akita) defeated NLG INFINITY (Gunma) 91-70 to take the lead.

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When the buzzer sounded to announce the end of the fierce battle that was involved in the extension, Fukuo, a 192 cm junior high school student, hugged his teammate Eifuku (2 years) with a height difference of 26 cm and was pleased to win the championship. Taking the position of the first queen, “Thanks to the friends and teachers who have supported me so far.” Tears of joy spilled.

A hard schedule where the semi-finals and finals will be held on the final day, following the day before the two games were played a day. Still, at a young age, he survived. In the morning semi-final, which overwhelmed Southern Gals 1031 (Tochigi) with 73-36, Fukuo showed a great success with 30 points and 18 rebounds.

Approximately two hours after the end of the match, in the final against Kyoto Seika, which began after 1:00 pm, he matched up with 187 cm Dimaro Jessica. As the opponent’s level went up dramatically, the stats in the final were only 8 points and 12 rebounds, but he was proud of Jessica, who boasts outstanding physical ability.

The blessed physique is inherited from parents from China, and the father is 190 cm tall and the mother is 186 cm tall. Fukuo, who has Japanese nationality, is a large player who has already been selected as a candidate for the U16 Japan national team among high school students. Director Ai Inagaki said, “The personality is very serious, and not only is he tall, but he also has a great attitude to run more and more at the beginning.”Furthermore, he expects that “Japanese treasure. I think he is a player who can become an Olympian in the future, and he has come towards that.”

After graduating from junior high school, he plans to go on to the prestigious Okagakuen High School (Aichi). Regarding the growth over the past year, Fukuo self-evaluated, “I think I was able to grow with defense rather than offense.” After the final match in junior high school, he said, “I want to practice driving and three-point shooting more and aim to be a player who can do both inside and outside. I want to be a national champion in high school.” I vowed to grow further.[Mikihiro Okuoka]