NEWSWORTHY
JBA lifts ban on four ex-national team players caught paying for sex
The Japan Basketball Association said Thursday it has lifted the suspension of four former national team players who were caught buying sex during last year's Asian Games in Indonesia. The B-League players — Yuya Nagayoshi (Kyoto Hannaryz), Takuya Hashimoto (Osaka Evessa), Takuma Sato (Shiga Lakestars) ...
Performance staff plays big role for Japan hoopsters
Right after the final buzzer, the TV camera momentarily caught head coach Julio Lamas giving a strong hug to athletic trainer Takeo Ichiyanagi after they helped accomplish a big feat in the Middle East in late February. Koichi Sato, the sports performance director for the ...
JBA establishes committee to cope with verbal, physical abuse on teams throughout nation
Oppressive actions such as corporal punishment and verbal abuse of athletes by coaches and those who have positions of authority have clearly been a major issue in Japanese sports in recent years. The Japan Basketball Association has recently formed an "integrity committee" to bring healthy ...
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 ...
Journey for Japan's hoop team to end with game for 7th place
The Japan men's national basketball team's bizarre, unprecedented journey at the Asian Games is nearly — and finally — coming to an end. The Akatsuki Five, who lost four players as a result of a scandal earlier in the tournament, will play with eight men ...
Brave Thunders run past Lakestars
The Kawasaki Brave Thunders had more points through three quarters than the visiting Shiga Lakestars accumulated in Friday's game. Not a good sign for the Lakestars. Kawasaki cruised to an 83-60 victory in the series opener at Todoroki Arena. The Brave Thunders improved to 15-7 at ...
JBIC delivers blunt critique of Japan men's basketball issues, demands talks with JBA
Observing the dismal results of their men's national team in the ongoing FIBA World Cup qualifiers, former Olympic basketball players and coaches are deepening their worries. The Japan Basketball Improvement Conference, which consists of former Olympic players and coaches and ex-Japan Basketball Association officials, insists ...
Japan roster unveiled for FIBA Asia Cup
Star guards Yuki Togashi, Makoto Hiejima and Daiki Tanaka headline the Japan men's national team's 12-man roster for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup, the Japan Basketball Association announced on Tuesday. Most of the squad that competed at June's East Asia Championship in Nagano, where the ...
Japan adjusts Asia Cup approach with star player Tokashiki absent
When the Japan Basketball Association announced its 12-player women's national team squad for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup in Bangalore, India, a couple of weeks ago, it came as a bit of a surprise, because it did not list the name of star player ...
Japan, Uruguay men's squads to play two exhibition contests in late July
The Japan Basketball Association announced on Friday that the men's national team will take on Uruguay in a pair of exhibitions at Aoyama Gakuin University on July 29 and 30. The games will tip off at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. The series will mark ...
Prolific winner Sako, a JBL legend, joins national team coaching staff
The Japan Basketball Association announced on Friday that former star guard Kenichi Sako has been hired as an assistant coach for the men's national team. Sako stepped down from his head coaching position with the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the B. League second division last month ...
JBA creates support system for national squad
Having missed out on the chance to play in its first Olympics in over four decades in 2016, and with the Summer Games heading to Japan in 2020, the Japan Basketball Association has made it a priority to do whatever possible in order to ...
