B. League Chairman Shinji Shimada says calling up players to the national team for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers during the B. League season has created a difficult situation for both his league and the Japan Basketball Association (JBA).
The national team had been preparing to compete in the final window of qualifiers in Doha this week, before the event was canceled at the last minute due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Qatar.
The JBA, B. League and national team head coach Julio Lamas had been scrambling to put together a team to take to Doha, a process that involved clearing many hurdles.