The Sunrockers Shibuya, who have opened the season with a 1-7 record, named Tsutomu Isa their new head coach on Friday.

Isa, promoted from assistant, replaces bench boss Geoffrey Katsuhisa, whose firing was announced on the same day.

The Sunrockers dropped their fifth consecutive game on Wednesday, a 62-61 loss to the Alvark Tokyo.

Isa, 49, joined the Shibuya coaching staff before last season. He was with the Ryukyu Golden Kings from 2007-17, first as an assistant and then as head coach (2014-17). He guided Ryukyu to two bj-league titles, and under Isa the Kings went 125-31 in the regular season in his first three years running the show.

The 37-year-old Katsuhisa was in his second season at the helm. The Sunrockers went 28-32 last season.

Shibuya plays host to the Yokohama B-Corsairs (2-6) on Saturday and Sunday.

In a statement posted on the team website, Isa said his focus is on guiding the team in the right direction. He cited the team's 2018-19 slogan ("Together") as an emphasis for those plans.