Hachimura, Fazekas, Watanabe to reinforce Japan for third window

TOKYO (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - A few interesting and exciting names have been included in Japan's third window pool that are sure to excite their fans.

With the stakes in the third window never higher than before, Japan are clearly pulling out all the stops to still qualify to the next round, calling up a new naturalized player and a couple of US NCAA players.

 The most standout name on that list is undoubtedly that of 32-year-old Nick Fazekas, Japan's new naturalized player. Fazekas comes in replacing Ira Brown, who started playing for the Japanese in 2016. Fazekas brings with him a ton of size, as his 6ft 11in (2.10m) frame will definitely shore up the middle for the Akatsuki Five. He is also among the most decorated players in Japan's B.League, having been named Most Valuable Player in the 2016-2017 season and finishing the 2017-2018 season as the competition's best rebounder.

Aside from him, however, Japanese fans will applaud the return of young NBA hopefuls Yuta Watanabe and Rui Hachimura to the national pool. Watanabe just finished his tenure at George Washington University and was a participant at the NBA Global Camp in Treviso, Italy a week ago. His size - 6ft 8in (2.03m) makes him a good option at the frontline for coach Julio Lamas, but he is also gifted with wingman skills that can make him cause mismatches against opposing guards.

Hachimura, meanwhile, is one of the rising stars for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The athletic 6ft 8in (2.03m) former Japanese youth team member has blossomed into an impact player in the US NCAA, and he is expected to make a splash for Japan in the Asian Qualifiers.

Nearly all of the players who played in the previous window are also returning, led by old reliables Makoto Hiejima, Joji Takeuchi and Ryusei Shinoyama. Key players who were sidelined by injury in the second window have also returned to the pool - star playmaker Yuki Togashi and high-flyer Yudai Baba.

Japan are entering the third window in a precarious position, having lost all their games so far. They have, however, a chance to still advance if they win at least one game in the third window. The most crucial match will be against Chinese Taipei, which beat them in the previous window. If the Taipei quintet enter their game against Japan with just one win, Japan can still barge into the second round with a victory.

Japan will host Australia at the Chiba Port Arena on 29 June and then go on the road to play Chinese Taipei at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium on 2 July.

FIBA