World Cup heroes Kawamura, Hiejima listed in training camp roster for Japan

TOKYO (Japan) - The Japan Basketball Association (JBA) have officially announced a 22-player training camp pool for Window 1 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.

Japan's Training Camp Roster for Window 1 of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers

Josh Harrellson	Makoto Hiejima	Yutaro Suda	Seiya Ando	Yuki Togashi
Shuta Hara	Ryo Abe	Josh Hawkinson	Yudai Baba	Keita Imamura
Hirotaka Yoshii	Koya Kawamata	Raita Akaho	Kai Toews	Hugh Watanabe
Yudai Nishida	Soichiro Inoue	Yuki Kawamura	Keijiro Mitani	Masato Ichikawa
Ren Kanechika	Yuto Kawashima

 

The long list includes 10 players from the team that cliched Japan a spot in the upcoming Olympic Games in France this year, highlighted by the Yuki Kawamura, Makoto Hiejima, and Josh Hawkinson.

As they begin their attempt to qualify for a 29th consecutive Asia Cup appearance, seven players are returning from their 2022 campaign. The tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia saw Akatsuki Japan reach the Quarter-Finals.

Outside of the familiar faces who have already suited up for Japan in a FIBA competition, the roster includes 6 players who are potentially in line for a debut. Former NBA player and University of Kentucky standout, Josh Harrellson, who has been playing professionally in Japan since 2016, headlines the list of potential debutants.

Keijiro Mitani and Yuto Kawashima are also among the players who could made their first senior national team appearances, both having previously stood out for Japan in youth FIBA competitions.

Kawashima has played in the U16 Asia Cup 2022 where he was named MVP, U17 World Cup 2022, U18 Asia Cup 2022, and two U19 World Cups in 2021 and 2023.

Mitani played in the U16 and U18 Asian Championships in 2018.

Japan are in Group C of the Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers with Guam, China, and Mongolia. They play their first game of the Qualifiers on 22 February 2024 at 19:05 (GMT +9) against Guam in Tokyo at the Ariake Coliseum. They will stay at home in the same venue for the second game of Window 1 on 25 February 2024 at 14:00 (GMT +9) in a marquee matchup against China.

Like the previous Asia Cup cycle, the 24 teams are divided into 6 groups of 4. Each team plays the other 3 teams on a home-and-away basis over 3 windows, with 2 games per window.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, making a total of 12 teams. The six 3rd-place teams from each group, meanwhile, will play in a Qualifying Tournament for Third-Placed Teams. The top four teams from this competition will secure the remaining spots at the Asia Cup.

FIBA