“I’m very proud of the team. He never gave up until the end.”
In the Asian Cup 2022, the Japan Men’s National Team will leave the tournament after losing to Australia 85-99 in the final eight. Of course, this result is not satisfactory for the team that was aiming for the championship. However, lacking the absolute ace Yuta Watanabe who was injured in the previous game, even though he was not the exact same member, he was able to do nothing with 52-98 in the World Cup qualifying Window 3 earlier this month and was able to eat up to the defeated opponent. Was a big harvest.
What stood out in this match was the step-up of young players with little experience as a representative. It was Yuki Kawamura, Keisei Tominaga, Hirotaka Yoshii, Soichiro Inoue who just made their full national team debut in Window 3 that stopped the bad flow of 3-15 by losing the pressure of Australia at the start of the game and offense and defense. It was a young quartet. From Kawamura’s sharp pass, Tominaga and Inoue scored a 3-point shot, and Yoshii made use of his physical strength to increase the strength of the defense, and Japan was able to break the bad tide.
After that, Australia quickly recovered, and by the end of the third quarter, it was pushed out by 21 points. However, when entering the 4th quarter, Yuki Togashi, Inoue and others sank a 3-point shot with 33 points today and Togashi’s rampage, and with 4 minutes remaining, they showed a stance of not giving up until the end. Is a bright sign that will lead to the future.
Despite the regrets of the defeat, commander Tom Hovasse praised the players’ efforts, saying, “First of all, I am very proud of the team. He never gave up until the end.”
Then, he looked back on the match as follows. “Today’s game plan was to keep the game going at a fast pace, and I wasn’t defeated physically and rebounding. It didn’t start as I expected, but the first half of the bench members was great. They changed everything and made up for it, and the starting lineup continued. But for opponents like Australia, we have to keep playing for 40 minutes. If we can’t do that, we’re in trouble. I will fall into
“I was able to find various pieces to fill the puzzle.”
In addition, the commander has received a great deal of response regarding the catch-up in the second half. “In half-time, let’s fight in our own style until the end without touching on tactics. The players responded with a pretty hot talk asking for 100% feeling. In the second half, we continued to push the ball. It was fun to watch. It’s always hard to lose a match, but it’s a match where the team has grown and I’m not feeling bad. “
When 42 candidates were announced in June, Hovasse announced that he would change members significantly for Window 3 and the Asia Cup in July, and for the warm-up game and Window 4 in August. Therefore, the current representative who has been active for more than a month will be separated here, but the commander says that there was a rise of not a few players.
“Inoue and young players have grown up in Tominaga and Yoshii. Also, Suda is not young, but he has taken a big step up. I can definitely appoint him from now on. They will do their best. It was great to play each role. I was able to find various pieces to fill the puzzle. “
The Japanese national team performed well, but on the other hand, Australia kept a difference of 3 possessions or more, which can be said to be a safety lead, and did not panic the opponent. In addition, 20 out of 43 3-point shots were successful, and an ideal offense was created with a success rate of 46.5%. With 16 successes and a success rate of 47.1%, they were able to shoot 3 points with a higher probability than ourselves. Given the goal of winning the World Cup next year against the world’s strongest opponents and becoming the top in Asia to qualify for the Paris Olympics, there are many uncertainties.
However, the match still showed the most potential since the Hovasse national team was launched. The commander expects the following effects. “It’s great to be able to move forward as a team. We’ve grown and we’ve expanded our fan base. I think you’ve come to believe us more than ever. Fans It ’s a big thing for Japanese basketball to be more respected by their opponents. ”
At the end of the press conference, Hovasse concluded, “I’m excited about the future of Japanese basketball.” I hope that the national team in August will show a fight that will further increase this excitement, which will lead to more competition and boost the team strength.
