“The most important thing is to understand what Hikaru-san wants to do.”
Fujitsu Red Wave held a media day last week in preparation for the start of the W League. Fujitsu can be said to be the top favorite to win this season as well, as the core members who won back-to-back W League titles last season and won both league and Empress’s Cup titles are still alive and well.
However, this off-season, BT Taves, who had been the head coach for 10 years, retired, and Hikaru Kusaka, who had been an assistant coach since 2017, was appointed as the new head coach. Although it is basically a continuation route, the new season will begin with quite a few changes.
Rui Machida, who leads the Queen as an absolute control tower, has worked together with Theves to bring Fujitsu to the top. Machida, who is making a new start after parting ways with his mentor and ally, Taves, was asked about building a relationship with head coach Kusaka, and he said, “I think I’m in the position where I have to understand the most about what Hikaru-san wants to do and what he’s aiming for on the team,” and says that he needs to take the initiative in communicating with the new coach.
“I had really detailed communication with BT, and I think we understood what each other was thinking and what kind of basketball we wanted to play.In the middle of the Pak Shinja Cup (held during the South Korean tour), I said to Hikaru, “Let’s communicate more,” and during practice, before and after games, etc. We’ve started talking more about details. I think Hikaru understands me, and I’m starting to understand him even more. There are things that we can improve on as the league starts and we get more experience with the games, and I want to continue to focus on communication.”
Head coach Kusaka is grateful for Machida’s offer, saying it was a valuable realization. “First of all, I want to respect the voices of the players, so I want to create a lot of time during practice to have them talk in a huddle. However, at the time of the Pakshinja Cup, I had to leave a lot of the weight to the players, and Rui said to me, “I think it’s okay to show more of Hikaru-san’s ideas.” By respecting the players’ ideas and communicating well, I want to do what I want to do well.”
“The more difficult the goal, the more I enjoy it”
In the new season of the W League, the registration regulations for foreign players have changed significantly. Until now, the condition was that the applicant had lived in Japan for a total of five years or more, and in reality only international students could sign the contract. Since this clause has been abolished, teams are now recruiting foreign big men who played overseas until last season. The battle under the goal quickly becomes more intense, but Machida remains calm, saying, “I don’t know until it starts.” “We have to change our response depending on whether the newly joined foreign player will be the center of the team or how he will be used. There are various types of players with height and physicality, so we need to make adjustments accordingly.”
Last season, Fujitsu had many opportunities to take advantage under the goal due to the height and strength of 190cm Joshua Nfonnobon Temitope, but with the introduction of new regulations, every team now has a 190cm player. For Fujitsu, one of its strengths is likely to decline, but Machida sees this as nothing more than a new challenge.
“We have to pay attention to how the other teams are changing. We will be less likely to be mismatched due to height, so I think it will be interesting to think about what choices we should make and what will be our advantage when controlling the game from now on. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Although the commander has changed, Fujitsu currently has a uniform lineup with talented players in each position. Among them, Machida said, “I think every year is a challenge, but personally this year will be an even bigger challenge because the head coach has changed.The base of the team is the same as before, but unless we improve our quality, it will be difficult to win the league for the third time in a row or win the second consecutive title.”
Machida, who has been devoted to Fujitsu since graduating from Yamate High School in Sapporo, won his first league title in his 13th year with the team two years ago, and won a double last season.The situation has completely changed from the time when he was biting back the frustration of falling just short of the title. However, he still emphasizes the challenge and his hunger for victory remains the same. When asked if he was satisfied with the results of the past two seasons, Machida said with a smile, “I don’t know.”
“I have pride as a winning team, but I don’t have the mentality of “We won last season, so we can win this time too.” No matter who we play, it’s always a challenge.After our first win, we aim to win back-to-back wins, and this year we’ll win three times in a row.My goals become even bigger.Taking on more difficult challenges motivates me, and the more difficult the goal, the more I enjoy it.”
As long as the entire team shares Machida’s mentality, Fujitsu will be in the position closest to the queen this season as well.
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