Yutaka Yoshii is in good form with one dunk after another
Soichiro Inoue’s weapon is the 3-point shot
Away games against Bahrain and Kazakhstan continue“FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers (Window5)”will have its first match tomorrow, November 11th (Friday) at 25:05 midnight.(Notice of broadcast/distribution decision). Both were tough opponents, and they were the type that Japan was not good at. However, we would like to introduce the comments of the Japanese big men who have been matched up against foreign players in the B League, who are confidently approaching Window5.
■ Tenketsu Harimoto (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins)
The training camp period is really short, but we want to build a solid team and win both games. I have never played Bahrain before, so I don’t know what kind of team they are, but I have already played against Kazakhstan twice this year, so I know what kind of team they are. I’d like to make adjustments to the issues I faced at the window in Okinawa (in August), fix them properly, and do my best.
Personally, I had Nick (Fuzzy Cass) and Baba (Yudai) in the last window, but I think I have to do my best in terms of rebounding because they are not here this time. As for the rebound, I’ve been working on it since practice, and I’ve also practiced exclusively for rebounding. We need to emphasize that as a point in the training camp and raise our awareness of rebounding. As an individual, I am good at defense, and I am confident that I will be able to stop them even in matchups against foreign players in the B League.
This time, all the members are experienced players, and all of them are players who have embodied the basketball of Tom (Horvath) head coach. Among them, there are many members who have been in training camps for a long time this summer, so they respond immediately to what they say in practice, and everyone understands that much. We are becoming an easy-going team.
■ Yutaka Yoshii (Alvark Tokyo)
In any case, we have a short preparation period, so we will definitely want to win while being conscious of how much we can complete as a team. The base of the team is almost solidified, but as each player returned to their own team and got used to the basketball, there were some things that they forgot. Also, there are still some parts that don’t fit together, but everyone knows the base part, so it hasn’t collapsed that much. In a short period of time, I feel that we need to be more in sync. I think as long as you practice a few times and get used to it, you’ll be fine.
I want to hit the shot when it opens. Head coach Tom has also told me that if there is a vacancy, I will aim for the shoot first, and by scoring that, the match-up players will get closer and closer, so I will be able to aim for a drive there, so I will be more conscious of that. want to go. I want to contribute to the team from small things like backcuts and rebounds.
We don’t know if we can score a goal or not, but there are a lot of players who are able to focus on rebounding and defense, which is the base for Japan.
■ Soichiro Inoue (Sunrockers Shibuya)
I have never played against Bahrain before, so I will do my best to scout for them so that they can win the important World Cup qualifiers. Kazakhstan has played a match in the previous window, so I would like to make use of what I learned from what I did not do well in that match, and work hard to resolve the issues so that we do not repeat the same mistakes.
In both the Asian Cup and the previous window, we struggled to find our momentum in the first half against Kazakhstan, and we struggled with our rebounding and offensive finishing. Specifically, we all know what we need to improve on, and there are many players who have experienced that match, so I want to be able to overcome those issues.
Basketball is almost positionless to begin with, so I don’t really care about any position, but I know that the opponent I’m going to match up with will be a bigger man than me. Until last time, there were times when I didn’t have much experience, but recently I’ve been able to practice well with foreign players at SR Shibuya, so I’d like to make good use of that experience for the Japan national team. . You can’t get used to the physical side unless you play many times, so I think that’s getting stronger through the B League.
Hiejima (Shin), Nishida (Yudai), and Baba will not be scoring goals this time, so the team as a whole will have to increase the number of 3-point shots and the number of transitions, and we have to make solid decisions in that situation. I think. I want to be able to make solid 3-point shots that I can do, and increase the number of those attempts. Up until now, I’ve had three, four at most, so I’d like to be able to decide on five or six. But right now, my weakness in rebounding has become an issue, so I want to actively get involved in offensive rebounding and increase the number of offenses so that my teammates can get them even if I can’t.
