The Japan Basketball Association and men's national team head coach Thomas Wisman have selected a bigger group of players to spark more intense competition inside, while having them peak at the right time.
Wisman announced the 42 players on the provisional national team early last week and divided them into three groups for the first time.
Group One (17 players) is the so-called "A-team," featuring signature names such as Yuta Tabuse, Takehiko Orimo, Takumi Ishizaki and twin brothers Joji and Kosuke Takeuchi.