Even with fewer appearances, “I do what I have to do and do my best.”
On December 21st, the Chiba Jets played at home against the Kyoto Hannaries. Against Kyoto, who were in a difficult situation due to the lack of foreign players, they took advantage of the advantage under the goal from the beginning and scored a number of points with good probability, achieving a comfortable victory with a score of 89-60. With this, Chiba J extended their winning streak to six with an overwhelming victory following the previous day’s 81-52 victory.
Despite the congested schedule, Chiba J’s ability to spread out their playing time through two consecutive big wins is a positive factor for Chiba J. Veteran center Gaku Arao also played 6 minutes and 32 seconds, the second time this season, playing tough defense and also playing the role of a screener on offense.
Currently, Chiba J is steadily accumulating wins on its way to winning the East region championship. It is painful that Kim Jin-ren was sidelined with a right shoulder injury that took six weeks to recover from in the game on December 7th, but compared to last season, the number of injured players has decreased significantly.
Regarding the current state of the team, Arao said, “Of course, it would be good to have Ren and play as a full team, but I think we are heading in the right direction with Tassie (Naoki Tashiro), Hara (Shuta), and Naas (Nasir Little) getting more playing time and doing well at tasks they don’t usually do.”
Arao himself remains a craftsman who does his job well when given the chance to play, but on the other hand, compared to last season, he has fewer opportunities to be on the court. However, the team-first veteran remains unwavering no matter the situation and continues to focus on himself. “While what I can do hasn’t changed, I’m in competition with Mike (Michael Ou), who plays the same position, and now Mike’s evaluation is higher than last season, so my playing time has decreased.However, I feel like I have no choice but to do what I have to do and do my best.”
Even if Ou is at the top of the pecking order now, Arao’s presence will likely be greater in the Emperor’s Cup, which will be held from January 6th to 12th, which will be held in a concentrated format for the first time in a while. This is because the regulations for foreign nationals have been changed, and 2 players on the bench, 1 on the court, and a special Asian quota will be treated the same as foreign nationals. As a result, Ou is unable to register for the Emperor’s Cup, and in terms of positions, John Mooney and D.J. Hogg are registered as foreign nationals, and Yuta Watanabe is likely to be in the No. 4 position like the Japanese representative. However, with the return of Kanechika, another Japanese player with size, uncertain, Arao will definitely have to play more in order to survive the crowded schedule of four games in six days and win the championship.
“Because this is the first intensive event in a long time, the momentum is even more important.”
Arao expresses his enthusiasm as follows. “I’ve been participating in this tournament since I was a university student, and I have an image of it being held on New Year’s Day, so it feels nostalgic. I think there’s a higher chance that I’ll be able to participate in a tournament where I can’t use the microphone, but it’s also at the coach’s discretion, such as Yuta playing as No. 4. However, I think he can do it in terms of his condition.”
“I think momentum will be even more important because it’s the first intensive event in a while,” Arao says of his outlook. In order to ride this momentum, Arao’s continued improvement in the upcoming matches will be the key to Chiba J’s regaining the title.
Last but not least, more than 10,000 spectators gathered for Chiba J’s home game on this day. This season marks the 15th anniversary of the team’s founding, and for Chiba J, it is now common for the team to draw crowds of over 10,000 people, but when it first started, it was difficult to draw crowds, and it was not unusual for the team to have crowds in the 1,000 range, and there were even games with fewer than that. The team’s current success is due to the team’s efforts during these difficult times, including the team’s staff and former players who worked together to carry out grassroots activities.
In addition to his return in 2022, Arao was with Chiba J from 2009 to 2013, before the birth of the B League, and has experienced this difficult period. Arao, who has been involved in various activities to expand the team’s popularity, such as handing out flyers in front of train stations, something that young players currently on the team have never done before, was asked about the success of the club.He says, “As a member of the Chiba Jets, there were times when we had 1,000 people, or even less, but since then we have grown to 10,000 people every game.I’m very happy to be able to be one of them as a player.”
Arao looks back on the grassroots activities at the time he joined the team and says, “The influence was huge” on his career as a professional basketball player.
“I was able to realize how grateful I am to the sponsors, and I also interacted very closely with the boosters at first.We were having trouble winning games and shared the painful feelings with the boosters.By having this experience, I was able to appreciate the support of the sponsors and the boosters. It made me realize even more how important the support of everyone is, and this feeling is the driving force behind my ability to continue playing today.I think it’s thanks to that experience that I’ve always had this desire to play for the people who support me.”
Arao is certainly spending less time on the court these days. However, his value to the team remains the same.
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