(Pictured above: Josh Hawkinson acts as one of the core members of the team)
The men’s national basketball team played against China and Mongolia in the qualifying rounds for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in late February. Both battles took place in enemy territory, and although they lost to China, they won against Mongolia. As a result, they finished second in their qualifying group after China and qualified for the Asian Cup to be held in August.
In preparation for the Asia Cup, the team started a training camp in June. In July, they played a warm-up match against the Netherlands in Japan, with a record of 1 win and 1 loss. After that, they traveled to South Korea and played two games against the country’s national team.
After returning to Japan, they continued to strengthen their skills and played consecutive games against Denmark. Head coach Tom Horvath announced the 42 candidates for the national team in June, but so far, Yudai Baba (Nagasaki Veruca, who was affiliated with the same team at the time), Keio Tominaga (Indiana Mad Ants), and Yuki Kawamura (Memphis Grizzlies), who are participating in the NBA Summer League, have not appeared on the court. Yuta Watanabe (Chiba Jets) has been injured since before and after the 2024 Paris Olympics, and has declined to participate in the Asian Cup.
Josh Hawkinson (Sunrockers Shibuya), Yutaka Yoshii (San-en Neo Phoenix), Yudai Nishida (Seahorse Mikawa), and the team’s youngest member, Akira Jacobs (Fordham University), who has played a key role so far, were selected for the training camp that began at the end of July. Yuki Togashi (Chiba Jets), a 31-year-old playmaker with extensive international experience, and Baba and Tominaga, who were participating in the NBA Summer League, were additionally called up. Head coach Horvath named Hawkinson and Baba as captains.
The “FIBA Asia Cup 2025” was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the team held a practice match in Qatar, also in the Middle East, just before. Consecutive wins against Qatar and Saudi Arabia set the stage for the final stage.
The tournament will begin on August 5th, with Japan (21st in the FIBA rankings) competing in the same group as Iran (28th), Syria (71st) and Guam (88th). The first place in the group will advance to the final tournament, the second place will take on the third place from another group, and the third place will take on the second place from another group in a playoff to advance to the quarterfinals.
Head coach Tom Horvath has been leading the team since September 2021.
The battle to reach the top for the first time in 54 years began with the war in Syria. The first quarter ended 18-13, but the lead was 14-28 in the second quarter. However, in the third quarter, Yoshii made consecutive shots early in the third quarter, and Hawkinson, Umi Teves (Alvark Tokyo), and Baba also scored to take the lead to 60-51. They showed their strength in the final fourth quarter as well, winning 99-68. Hawkinson had a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
The second match was against Iran. The battle to finish first in the group progresses in an evenly matched manner. The score was 13-16 after the first 10 minutes, and the score was 34-34 at halftime.
They didn’t concede in the third quarter either. The score was 58-58 going into the final 10 minutes, but they gave up consecutive points in the final stages and Tominaga fouled out. We lost 70-78.
In the final game against Guam, they expanded their lead from the first quarter. Tominaga scored 20 points, Nishida scored 16 points, and Togashi scored 12 points for an overwhelming score of 102-63. As a result, Japan will play Lebanon (29th place), the 2nd place in their group and the runner-up of the previous tournament, in the quarterfinal match.
They started chasing from the first quarter. Although the lead narrowed to three points late in the second quarter, the first half ended 41-53.
Although they made a desperate attempt to catch up in the third quarter, they were unable to close the score. They could not stop their opponents in the final fourth quarter, and the final score was 73-97 at the buzzer.
The next target for the Japan Men’s National Team is to advance to the Asian qualifying rounds for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027. The two first qualifying matches were held on November 28th and December 1st. This is the second consecutive match against Chinese Taipei (67th in the FIBA rankings).
Captain Yuta Watanabe returned to Japan’s roster. It also attracted attention that experienced players over the age of 30, such as Takumi Saito (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins), Shuta Hara (Chiba Jets), and Seiya Ando (Yokohama Bee Corsairs), who have shown good form in the B League, were called up for the first time in a while.
The first game, held at home, was won 90-64. Watanabe scored 20 points, the most on the team, and Hawkinson had 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.
The second game, which was held in Taiwan, was won 80-73. Head coach Horvath’s team got off to a good start.
Japan is in the same group as China, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei in the “FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027” Asian first qualifying round. China was runner-up in the previous Asian Cup, and South Korea played a close battle against China in the quarterfinals (final ranking was 6th).
The Asian first qualifying round will resume from the end of February next year. In preparation for the clash with China and South Korea, further improvement is required.
Head coach Corey Gaines has been leading the Japan women’s national team since March.
The Japan Women’s Basketball National Team started running under head coach Corey Gaines in March. Head coach Gaines served as an advisory coach for the Japan women’s national team in 2016, and since 2022 has been an associate coach for the Japan men’s national team, supporting head coach Tom Horvath at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and the Paris Olympics.
The target for 2026 was the FIBA Women’s Asian Cup 2025 in July. As a run-up to the fight to aim for the top in Asia, they have been in training camps since May. Prior to the first training camp, a selection camp was held and efforts were made to discover new talent, mainly young players.
Gaines’ first game was against Chinese Taipei on June 7th. Japan is ranked 9th in the FIBA rankings, and Chinese Taipei is 39th. All eyes were on the new HC’s style of “utilizing speed, mobility, and shooting ability” under the slogan “Organized Chaos” and to what extent he would be able to embody it.
Kokoro Tanaka (ENEOS), the youngest member of the team at 19 years old, was in the starting five. Tanaka scored 10 points, and fellow 19-year-old Ayai Nakamura Miller (University of Pennsylvania, now 20 years old) scored 12 points, the most on the team. The young girls and experienced players like Maki Takada (Denso) shared playing time and achieved a 95-42 victory. Also, veteran Tokashiki Raimu (Aisin) played for the national team for the first time in about three years.
They also won the second game 89-45. The team held a third training camp with a short break in between, and then departed for an expedition to China.
In China, they played two games against the Chinese national team and lost both. Although they did not produce any results, it was worthwhile for so many players to be on the international court.
After returning to Japan, they played against Denmark on July 3rd and 4th.
Game 1 was a 65-65 draw. The second game on the 4th was won 89-55. Yuki Miyazawa (Fujitsu) scored 15 points, and Minami Yabu (Denso) scored 14 points, which was higher than the previous day’s 12 points. Tokashiki also scored 11 points.
On the 10th, the team departed for Shenzhen, China, where the Asian Cup will be held. Twelve people, including Paris Olympics members Takada and Miyazawa, and Tanaka, who has been promoting their team since the selection camp, will aim to win for the first time in two Games.
In Group B, Japan (9th in the FIBA rankings) will play against Australia (2nd in the FIBA rankings), the Philippines (44th in the FIBA rankings), and Lebanon (54th in the FIBA rankings). The top three teams from Group A and Group B will advance to the final tournament.
The first match was against Lebanon. In the first quarter, they led 16-26. There was a certain stiffness typical of the first game, and it took a long time for them to not get into their rhythm, but in the end they won 72-68.
In the second game against the Philippines, they had a 20-point lead at the end of the third quarter, 77-57. Head coach Gaines, taking into consideration the consecutive games, moved his main players to the bench and entered the fourth quarter. Although they allowed the Philippines to catch up, they won their second straight victory 85-82.
The third match against Australia is an important match as the winner will finish at the top of the group. The first quarter ended 22-26, but the score turned around in the second quarter and the score was 51-42. However, after the score was tied in the third quarter, they conceded points due to mistakes in the fourth quarter and lost 67-79. As a result, they will face New Zealand (26th place), the 3rd place in Group A, in the semi-final match.
It was a game they couldn’t afford to lose, and they won 77-62. Tanaka scored 17 points, the most on the team, and was the driving force behind the victory.
Kokoro Tanaka, 19 years old, made a leap forward in 2025.
In the semi-finals, they will face host country China (4th place). Against an opponent that has multiple players over 2 meters tall, they do their best to defend and not allow them to invade the paint area as much as possible. Offensively, they made 3-point shots with a high rate and grabbed a 90-81 victory in the atmosphere of an away game. Japan has advanced to the finals for seven consecutive tournaments since 2003.
The opponent in the final is Australia. The score was 43-54 at the end of the first half, and the score was still 59-67 at the end of the third quarter. However, the score was 70-70 in the fourth quarter. However, they gave up in the final stages and lost 79-88.
In terms of individual awards, Tanaka was selected to the All-Star Five. The 19-year-old unleashed his potential, tying for third place in the tournament in average points scored.
After finishing as runners-up for the second consecutive tournament, Japan will now participate in the World Qualifiers for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held in March next year. The battle on the international stage continues for 26 years.
[Text]Kei Totsuka
[Photo]Chiba Kaku
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