It’s a representative activity after the harsh NBA battle, but “it’s fun and can’t be helped”
In the Asian Cup 2022, the men’s Japan national team will face the Philippines national team in the final 8 advancement deciding match. Due to the schedule, all the core players belonging to the domestic league missed, and they won 102-81 against the young opponents who play overseas such as the B League.
What was big for Japan in this match was that, unlike the previous match against Iran, which suffered a complete defeat, it was possible to carry out a bullish play that aggressively launched a paint attack. Yuta Watanabe created this good flow, scoring 12 points and 9 rebounds in the first half alone. And at the end of the second quarter, when the Philippines caught up and the lead was about to shrink to a single digit, Watanabe scored consecutive points and finished the first half with 50-34, which was a big point.
After that, with 7 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, Watanabe fell when he set up a drive, hurt his right ankle and was sent off with a regrettable injury. However, Japan won when the rest of the players firmly inherited Watanabe’s aggressive stance.
After being injured, Watanabe went down to the locker room in a wheelchair, but at the end of the game he returned to the bench and showed him walking without crutches while dragging his right foot. However, after the match, he said, “It’s over,” although it’s very disappointing, he revealed the outlook for the best eight and beyond. Watanabe may find it hard to finish playing in the Asian Cup in the form of indigestion, which is a breakdown. However, he said, “It would be fun,” he said of the representative activities that he joined after the long and harsh NBA season.
“I’m a person who wants to play basketball and play in the game. It’s not easy to adjust to a completely different environment from the new teammates and coaches in the national team, but after I got to Corona in January, I almost played in the NBA. It’s harder for a basketball player to be out of the game, so it’s fun to play in the national team. If I can recover from here, I might be able to play in the game, but I’m lonely when I think it’s over. There is no such thing. “
“I don’t think there are any players who have been confirmed as representatives of this tournament, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Watanabe confronted the opponent who hit hard without being pressured, and mentioned that it was a big harvest to exceed the strength of the play. “The Philippines always plays hard. It was one of the weak points of Japan to dislike such a team and to lose physically and keep the pace of the opponent. Especially in this game, young players are the opponents. I was playing without dislike of contacts and I was proud to see it. “
In this way, Watanabe feels a great response to the step-up of young people. And even if you don’t stand on the court as the main pillar of the Japanese national team, “As the leader of this team, it would be best if I could play in the next game, but even if I couldn’t, I would go to support and talk to them from the outside. We will do our best to support the team for the next match against Australia.
“(Tominaga) Keisei, Kawamura (Yuki) and the experience of being able to play against a wonderful team like Australia from the early twenties will definitely live in the future. Besides the two, Nishida (Yudai) is this time I honestly didn’t know until I participated in the national team training camp, but I think he’s a pretty good player who came with me. Yoshii (Yutaka) is always fighting, and (Inoue) Soichiro is also big. It’s a weapon to be able to shoot only. There are many good points for other players. “
In this way, Watanabe feels that the growth of young players is reliable, and that is why he expects the competition for the national team to become more fierce for next year’s World Cup finals. “The selection process has become difficult and I can’t wait for veteran players. I don’t think there are any players who have been confirmed as representatives of this tournament, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
If you can’t play in the match, you may want to give top priority to treatment and leave the team first. Especially for players whose main battlefield is the NBA. However, Watanabe does not make that choice and shows the idea of accompanying the team to the end. Even if he can’t play with him, he spends as much time as possible with him, and being exposed to that idea is an irreplaceable experience for the young players who will lead the next generation of the national team. And above all, the high level of loyalty to Watanabe’s representative really has a positive effect on the team. It was his words that Watanabe was absolutely indispensable not only for his outstanding play but also for a leader with excellent human power.