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Saori Miyazaki’s candid thoughts on the fierce point guard battle of the Japan Women’s Basketball National Team “It’s really painful, but being able to work hard is a plus.” -Basket Count | Basket Count

“I wish I could put out Waku Waku Basket in Sendai.”

The Japan women’s basketball team will play warm-up games against the Latvian national team on August 11th and 12th. The major themes of these two games will be how far they can demonstrate their play that they have accumulated so far, and the selection battle for the 12-man squad for the Women’s World Cup 2022, which will be held in late September.

Currently, the national team is holding a training camp with 15 members, but head coach Toru Onzuka has revealed that in addition to this member, Rui Machida, who is currently playing in the WNBA, is also a candidate. In that case, the point guard is the most fierce selection race.

Considering the balance of positions, it is expected that there will be 3 point guards, and it will be a competition between Tokyo Olympics representative Machida, Nako Motohashi, Saori Miyazaki, Shiori Anma, who has made great strides after the Olympics, and Mai Yamamoto. Miyazaki, who is one of the parties involved, reveals his frank thoughts as follows in the midst of a battle of strength, where it would not be strange for anyone to serve as the starting playwright.

“Every day at the training camp is really tough, but I think it’s really good for me to be able to improve each other and improve by competing with each other. Even if I’m not feeling well, if the other players are doing well, I think the team will go in a good direction. If I compare myself with others, the selection period will be really exhausting, so I will be happy when other players play well, and I will be happy to see how other players perform. I’m doing my best with the feeling that I can absorb the good parts.”

Under Head Coach Onzuka, Miyazaki played a key role in the Asian Cup 2021, which was held immediately after the Tokyo Olympics and was attended by young members. In the final against China, he scored 26 points, scored 11 assists and 7 rebounds, and became the driving force behind his fifth consecutive victory with a spectacular performance.

Since then, Miyazaki has continued to be called up to the national team and is building a solid position, but on the other hand, it was Yamamoto who left a big impact in the World Cup final qualifying in February, and Anma made a game in the warm-up match against Turkey in June. Shiny. “There is something about his instantaneous breaking power that keeps other players at bay. He contributes as a detonator, especially in the offense,” said the commander. It is difficult to say that it is showing its full potential. Therefore, what kind of play he can show in this game against Latvia will have a great meaning for Miyazaki to survive in the survival race.

“It hasn’t been a long time, but I hear that there are some really big players in matches against overseas teams. , We want to put out our unique Wakuwaku Basket in Sendai.”

Miyazaki talks about her enthusiasm, but the appearance of her running freely on the court is also an important part of the Japanese-style basket that excites the viewers. It will be interesting to see if he can show the sparkle of the Asian Cup.

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