Fierce representative battle “I am facing with the mentality that I will be cut tomorrow”
The Japan men’s basketball team lost the second international warm-up game against New Zealand on August 4, 75-94. As the score shows, New Zealand’s physical attack was not stopped, and they conceded a large number of goals, which was the main cause of their defeat.
In the Korean expedition in late July, he could not cope with the physical strength of Korea and lost the first match 69-76. However, in the second game, he outperformed in the physical collision and won 85-80. In the case of consecutive games, the team that loses the first game will become more energetic. This game against New Zealand is the form that the energy difference of the second game came out to Moro.
Makoto Hiejima says: “By losing the last match, New Zealand showed a lot of energy. was going to the opponent, and when I was up-tempo, I was able to play good basketball because there was a gap. I think”
Hiejima had a lot of negative remarks due to the complete defeat by about 20 points, but his performance seems to have been the best in recent times, as he scored a team-high 12 points. In fact, the person himself also showed a smile, saying, “Well, it feels like it’s not bad.”
Japan ended up with 8 out of 35 3-point shots (22.9%), which is a lifeline. This is one reason. Among them, Hiejima sank a pull-up three with a high probability instead of a catch and shoot. As a result, he overtook the opponent who was ahead of him and mass-produced points from the drive.
“The opponents were more physical today, so I was aiming for a 3-point shot with a little gap. I think we played really well.”
In this way, Hiejima felt a response to his own play, and the commander also felt the same. When asked about positive results, head coach Tom Horvath said, “Mako’s basket was also good,” and cited Hiejima’s performance as one of the benefits. In addition, he said, “But I had two chances to hit a 3-point shot, but I didn’t.”
Currently in Japan, the competition for No. 2 and No. 3 is particularly fierce, and even Hiejima, who has been the center of the national team for a long time, has not been guaranteed the position of the national team. Hiejima, who has a deep understanding of this, says, “I face day by day with the mentality that I will really be cut tomorrow.”
“I think this team’s style is to seize the flow with defense, so I’m always aware of that. Today, I had the impression that the team was struggling to score, so at first we were in a mode of scoring goals. I have a lot of experience, so I play while watching the situation around me.From now on (warm-up games) the level will be higher, but I will show my own characteristics there as well. I would like to make an appeal.”
2023-08-05 13:09:00
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