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Japan’s men’s basketball national team achieved a remarkable feat. At the recent World Cup, they marked the first time in history to win three games, putting an end to their previous disgraceful record of “all losses against European teams and 11 consecutive losses in world tournaments, including the Olympics.” As a result, they earned the right to participate in the Paris Olympics, which is given to the top Asian athletes. The national team is led by former NBA player Tom Horvath. Although his high level of coaching ability is well-known, it is not well known that he has experience not only as a player but also as a company employee. We took a closer look at his unique career and his unique team building style. (Nonfiction writer Naoto Fujie)
win a tough battle
stopped a disgraceful record
After losing their first game against Germany 63-81, Japan’s men’s basketball team was plagued by a negative record. Their record against European teams in the World Cup was 11 losses. His losing streak at world championships, including the Olympics, has also increased to 11.
However, none of the national team players looked down. On the contrary, NBA player Yuta Watanabe (Phoenix Suns) was proud and showed some evidence.
The basis for this is that in the last 20 minutes of the second half, Japan outscored the powerful Germany, which won all eight matches and reached the top of the world for the first time, 32-28. Watanabe left behind these words.
“In the second half, when we seemed to be losing the lead, everyone held on and fought through the 40 minutes.”
The second match against Finland was held on the first day of middle school. Japan made a huge comeback from an 18-point deficit in the end of the third quarter and won 98-88, ending their disgraceful losing streak at the same time.
They subsequently lost the match against Australia 89-109, failing to make it through to the first league in their sixth attempt. Even so, they won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and outscored Australia, who is ranked third in the world rankings, by a score of 54-52 in the second half of the match.
Momentum and confidence carried over into the ranking round to decide 17th place and below. First, they defeated Venezuela, which ranks 17th in the world rankings, higher than Japan’s 36th place. Despite trailing by as many as 15 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, they defeated them 86-77 after a huge comeback that was a repeat of the match against Finland.
Next up is the final match against Cape Verde. Unlike in the past, they led by as many as 20 points at the end of the third quarter, but were chased hard, and with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, the lead was narrowed to three points. However, they persevered desperately and widened their point difference in the end to win 80-71.
The team’s three World Cup wins are the most in history, surpassing Uruguay’s two wins in 1967. Japan placed 19th out of 32 countries, outperforming the other Asian countries participating in this tournament, including Lebanon, the Philippines, China, Iran, and Jordan, and earned the right to participate in next summer’s Paris Olympics, which is given only to the No. 1 ranked country in Asia.
This will be the first time since the 1976 Montreal Games that Japan has qualified for the Olympics on its own. This feat, achieved for the first time in 48 years, was Japan’s biggest goal in this tournament.
In contrast to the women who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the men barely made a mark at the world championships. Why did the World Cup, which was co-hosted by Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, take a turn for the worse and was able to make such a spectacular breakthrough, rewriting all of the previous history?
The answer lies in team building by Tom Horvath, an American head coach (HC) who took office in September 2021, that is tailored to the Japanese national character and brings out the best of the Japanese people. This is because, as many fans may know, it was Horvath who led the women’s team to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and after the Games he moved on to coach the men’s national team.
However, it is not widely known that his management skills are closely related to his “unusual career.”
2023-09-16 20:32:32
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