Kato Takeru Aims to Reach Emperor’s Cup Main Tournament With Tsukuba University

That connection sparked Kato's desire to join the university squad, alongside watching Ayumu Yanagi reach the A team after entering the school through standard admissions.

“At first it was really scary to play with seniors and peers at the national team level that I had seen in magazines and on YouTube,” Kato told note, recalling his selection for the freshman tournament team about a month after joining.

Kato spent most of his four years on the B team, battling early impatience and a knee injury that flared up during his junior year. Although a long rehabilitation period sidelined him for much of the previous season, treatment allowed him to return without missing a single practice this year, note reported.

“You have next year,” Kato’s seniors told him when injuries forced him to miss playing time alongside them, according to his note.

Kato missed out on an A-team selection at the start of his senior season, leaving him questioning his goals until teammates, seniors, and juniors supported him through the setback, note stated.

“Even if I came up from the B team last, there was a back I could show,” Kato told note, emphasizing his defensive energy and vocal support from the bench.

He stated his intention to finish his 13-year basketball career without regrets by giving everything on the court in the tournament.

“I want to prove in terms of results that the path we walked this season was not wrong, and I want to advance to the main tournament and play against Brex’s Kaisei,” Kato told note.