Third-division assignment could spell trouble for Kanazawa Samuraiz
The Kanazawa Samuraiz are a solid team in the final year of the bj-league's 11-season existence. They also happen to be a brand new team. Their 26-20 record through Sunday has been impressive, especially considering the fact that the entire landscape of Japanese basketball is ...
Size of B. League will present challenges from the outset
There is no one-size-fits-all formula — no magic pill exists — for the Japan Basketball Association to create a new men's pro hoop circuit that will become an instant success. The sheer size of the B. League, the 45-team, three-division league is a real cause ...
First wave of teams allocated for new hoop league
The Japan Professional Basketball League announced which divisions 20 of the teams that will make up the new men's top circuit will play in on Thursday, following a meeting of the FIBA-led Japan 2024 Task Force. A total of 12 clubs have been allocated to ...
JBA announces preseason exhibition showcase between top NBL, bj-league teams
Last season's four championship finalists from the NBL and bj-league will compete on Sept. 13 in Tokyo, the Japan Basketball Association announced on Monday. In the event, dubbed the "NBL-bj-league Dream Games," the NBL champion Aisin SeaHorses and bj-league winner Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix will square ...
JPBL will face many challenges from inaugural season
Unlike the J. League in the early 1990s, the Japan Professional Basketball League will not be an immediate success story when it tips off in the fall of 2016. The stars were aligned for the J. League to shine brightly, including the obvious appetite for ...
Fairness prevails in Hiroshima saga
It's no surprise that the Hiroshima Lightning have endured a soap opera-like saga before even playing their first bj-league game. In fact, it's quite predictable. Leadership woes and institutional ineptitude have plagued Japan basketball for many decades, and a fundamental lack of understanding about the true ...
Osaka goes with proven winner in Oketani
As expected, the Osaka Evessa have hired Dai Oketani as their next head coach, teaming him up with advisory coach Bill Cartwright, who doubles as the Mexican national team bench boss, to take the team to the next level. The Evessa, the first dynasty in ...
JBA chief Kawabuchi says task force on track for ban to be lifted
Saburo Kawabuchi told reporters on Tuesday that the Japan Basketball Association is close to securing that its ban will be lifted by FIBA this summer. The Japan 2024 Task Force chairman spoke at a Tokyo news conference on the same day after the group's sixth ...
Kawabuchi chosen as new Japan Basketball Association president
Japan 2024 Task Force co-chairman Saburo Kawabuchi was officially elected as the new president of the Japan Basketball Association during an extraordinary council and board meeting on Wednesday. The JBA also approved six new board members, including Kawabuchi, in the same meetings. A pair of former ...
46 teams have submitted documents for new hoop circuit
All 47 clubs of the NBL, NBDL and bj-league, including expansion teams for the 2015-16 season, are scheduled to join the new men's basketball league in Japan in 2016. The Japan 2024 Task Force made the announcement in Tokyo on Tuesday. With six teams, including ...
Japan 2024 Task Force establishes league office for new men's pro hoop circuit
Led by co-chairman Saburo Kawabuchi, the Japan 2024 Task Force, declared it will establish a bigger, better men's professional basketball league with a broader vision. And so, Japanese basketball clubs were asked to burn the bridges behind them, accepting rigid qualifications to join it. On ...
Kawabuchi doubles down on Japan 2024 Task Force agenda
Change can be quite difficult, and there's often resistance to it. Reforming the Japan Basketball Association fits that description, too. And ushering in a new, unified era for men's professional basketball here does not go hand in hand with all key leaders nodding their heads in ...
