George Washington standout Yuta Watanabe, veteran star guard Yuta Tabuse and the Takeuchi twins (Joji and Kosuke) will lead the "Akatsuki Five" as Japan men's national team head coach Kenji Hasegawa on Thursday revealed his final roster for the final Olympic qualifier, which takes place early next month in Belgrade.
Hasegawa trimmed the 16-man squad down to 12 after Japan finished last with a 1-4 record in the eight-team Atlas Challenge invitational tournament, which wrapped up on Sunday in China.
"We are heading to the final Olympic qualifier with these 12 men," Hasegawa said at a news conference at the National Training Center, where the team began its fourth training camp on the same day. "Japan has not opened the door to the world in a long time. We would like to make this final Olympic qualifier the first step of our challenge against the world and toward the Tokyo Olympics."