Japan name 24-player roster headlined by Fazekas, Togashi
TOKYO (Japan) - The Japan Basketball Association (JBA) have announced a 24-player roster ahead of their participation in the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.
TOKYO (Japan) - The Japan Basketball Association (JBA) have announced a 24-player roster ahead of their participation in the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.
🇯🇵男子日本代表🇯🇵
— バスケットボール日本代表 (@JAPAN_JBA) February 15, 2022
「FIBA バスケットボールワールドカップ 2023 アジア地区予選」Window2 日本代表候補選手24名発表 / Window2直前合宿参加メンバーのお知らせhttps://t.co/LiYDqUXAiZ@FIBAWC #FIBAWC #WinForJapan #AkatsukiFive pic.twitter.com/gGRkqBw26a
Named in the list are 5 players who played for Japan at the World Cup in 2019: Seiya Ando, Makoto Hiejima, Kosuke Takeuchi, Avi Schafer, and Nick Fazekas. Star guard Yuki Togashi is also named among the 24 players.
| Japan's 24-player roster for the February Window | |||
| Kosuke Takeuchi | Nick Fazekas | Takatoshi Furukawa | Kosuke Kanamaru |
| Daichi Taniguchi | Makoto Hiejima | Aki Chambers | Naoya Kumagae |
| Masaaki Morikawa | Kengo Nomoto | Seiya Ando | Yuki Togashi |
| Takuma Sato | Takumi Saito | Keita Imamura | Koh Flippin |
| Ryo Terashima | Avi Koki Schafer | Isaiah Murphy | Yudai Nishida |
| Ryan Rossiter | Luke Evans | Shuta Hara | Matthew Aquino |
There are some standouts who shined in Window 1 that are named in this preliminary roster such as Ryo Terashima, Yudai Nishida, and Luke Evans, the three top scorers from Japan’s first two games.
Aside from familiar faces, there are names that Asia basketball fans should keep their eyes on such as Isaiah Murphy and Koh Flippin. In particular, there might be excitement around Murphy - or Shinsaku Enomoto - who played for Japan at the U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 alongside Rui Hachimura.
Japan are scheduled to play two games in the upcoming window, which is set to be hosted in a bubble in Okinawa. They will first face Chinese Taipei on February 26, before heading on to a much anticipated clash against Australia on February 27. The game against Australia will be a rematch from the famous encounter on June 29, 2018 when the Akatsuki Five upset the Boomers in Chiba.
Japan are already qualified for the World Cup as co-hosts of the Final Phase in 2023.
FIBA