Makoto Hiejima, Nick Fazekas bring Japan to brink of World Cup berth
A hot-shooting 24-point, six-assist game from Makoto Hiejima pushed Japan past Iran and to the brink of World Cup qualification on Thursday. Hiejima came up big in the 97-89 victory in Tehran, with Japan's naturalized center Nick Fazekas continuing his fine play since his return ...
FIBA task force positive on Tokyo 2020 berth for Japan
Japan's men's basketball team is on the right track to earn a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, FIBA task force co-chairman Ingo Weiss told a news conference on Sunday. Weiss stressed that the Japan Basketball Association has fully lived up to the expectations of ...
Andreas Zagklis takes reins at FIBA
Nearly two months after longtime secretary general Patrick Baumann's death on Oct. 13 in Buenos Aires, FIBA has appointed his successor. At a FIBA Central Board meeting on Dec. 7 in Mies, Switzerland, Andreas Zagklis was unanimously approved as the next secretary general. The 38-year Greek ...
Utsunomiya to host 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final
Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, has been chosen to host next year's FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final, basketball's global governing body announced on Friday. The event is scheduled to be held Nov. 2 and 3, providing local fans with a glimpse of the halfcourt version of the ...
Japan coach Julio Lamas says team won't take Kazakhstan lightly
One night after its crushing victory over Qatar in the second round of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, the Akatsuki Five have no intention of lowering their guard even for a bit. The Japan men's national team, which cruised past the Middle Eastern nation ...
Patrick Baumann's profound impact on basketball will live on
Global basketball is a far-flung enterprise with 213 national federations and complexities that don't easily mesh into a single entity. Successful leaders, especially at the top, are vital to create meaningful bonds, improve governance and deal with problems. And some leaders are irreplaceable. That much ...
Japan overcomes Iran through explosive performances from Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe
Japan's star duo of Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe proved their talent on Monday evening, coming through down the stretch in the hosts' 70-56 win over Iran in a FIBA World Cup Asian qualifier at Ota City General Gymnasium. Japan (4-4), which cruised past Kazakhstan ...
Young guns Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe carried the scoring load in helping Japan to an 85-70 win over Kazakhstan in the first game of the second round of FIBA World Cup Asian qualifying on Thursday. Hachimura finished with 24 points on an efficient 8-for-14 ...
Rising star Rui Hachimura makes impressive debut for Japan men's national team
Fast, strong, big, smooth, phenom, hope, slam dunker, highlight film. The list goes on and on when you think of words and phrases to describe Japan's hoopster Rui Hachimura. You can probably now add "rock star" to the list. On Friday night, the 20-year-old athletic forward made ...
Debora Zoli blazing a trail for female sports agents with ability, charisma
Building relationships is a vital part of being a successful pro sports agent. Sustaining relationships is equally important, but it's an often trickier task in the cutthroat world of pro basketball. After all, agents come and go in this ultra-competitive business, and maintaining trust and ...
Japanese men prepare for rigorous qualifying schedule
The format for the men's FIBA World Cup qualifiers has been changed from a tournament format to a system that will see teams play each other in home-and-away contests. Which also means the participating players will have to compete for their respective national teams during ...
Inconsistent level of B. League officiating a cause for real concern
Rising attendance figures across the nation and increased media attention were two byproducts of the merger that created the B. League, when the disbanded NBL, NBDL and bj-league joined forces to make this a possibility. And it was necessary to move the sports in the ...
