AKATSUKI JAPAN aims for first victory in Asia in 88 years against Nakago
Shin Hiejima said, “I hope I can show what I lacked” when they lost two consecutive games last time.
In preparation for the second match of the “FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifying Window 1” (hereinafter referred to as “Window 1″), the Japanese men’s national team and the visiting Chinese national team practiced the day before at Ariake Coliseum. In November 2021, head coach Tom Horvath, who had just been appointed to the Japan men’s national team, made his first appearance against China in Sendai. That match ended in a two-game losing streak, and they are eager for revenge, saying, “We haven’t beaten China in Asia for 88 years, so I’m looking forward to competing.”
On the FIBA tournament website (“Three reasons why Japan can claim historic win against China”), it was introduced as the first time since winning at the 1938 Berlin Olympics (*76-58 at the East Asian Championship held in Nagano in 2017). ).
They also won 60-50 at the 4th FIBA Asia Cup (currently FIBA Asia Challenge) held in Tokyo in 2012. This was the year that Shin Hiejima (Utsunomiya Brex), who was a fourth-year student at Aoyama Gakuin University at the time, made his debut on the Japanese national team. Hiejima remembers the experience of winning at the Asian Games, both of which were teams made up of young players. Hiejima, who has experienced serious competitions with full members that have opened doors to the world at events such as the Olympics and the FIBA World Cup, said of his impressions of China, “There are situations where it’s hard to win, so I still don’t feel like Japan is on top.” I will state.
Looking back on his first team against Horvath Japan two and a half years ago, he said, “At that time, I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t really understand what the team’s strengths were.But now. My role has already been clarified, and I hope I can show what I lacked then in tomorrow’s match.” As he says, the Japanese national team is evolving. Head coach Horvath, who didn’t even know Hiejima’s personality at the time, said with a wry smile, “I vividly remember that he encouraged me.” Hiejima, who is not the type to show his emotions, was sometimes misunderstood as not putting any emotion into his play. However, they have now built a strong relationship of trust, and they have been entrusting their team for a long time, lasting 27 minutes and 39 seconds during the match against Guam.
Hiejima says that he feels that China is superior to him, but now that he won last year’s FIBA World Cup and qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics with the No. 1 result in Asia, he says, “His height and physical ability are world-class.” I think it’s a good opportunity to play against our opponent in the Asian Cup qualifying round.I think it’s rare that we get to play against China as we reach our culmination, so I definitely want to win,” he said with confidence. Looking forward to tomorrow’s game.
Tomorrow, February 25th (Sunday), tip-off will be at 14:00 (doors scheduled to open at 12:30). The AKATSUKI JAPAN official goods shop outside the venue will open from 10:30. Tickets are already sold out, so be sure to watch the live broadcast on TV Asahi, DAZN, and TVer.
2024-02-25 04:02:21
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