Summary of the Paris⁤ 2024 Olympics: Japan Basketball Association’s Future Plans

One‍ month has passed since the Paris 2024 Olympics​ concluded. The Japanese men’s team made history by qualifying for the Olympics on their own‌ for the first time in 48 years, while the Japanese women’s team won the⁣ silver medal at the ‍Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Unfortunately, both teams lost three straight games in the qualifying group phase, finishing ⁣in 11th place for the men’s team and 12th place for the women’s ‍team out of the ⁢12 teams that participated.

Chairperson Yuko Miya’s Statement

We ‍would like to express our sincere gratitude to the‍ many people who came to‌ Lille to support us at the Paris 2024 Olympics. As ‌you know,​ the results were very tough, and neither the‍ men’s nor women’s ⁤Japanese national ‌team achieved their goals. Neither the men’s nor women’s team qualified to play​ in the 3×3 event, and as ⁣the JBA,​ we⁤ must take these results seriously. However, we ⁢have‌ the utmost respect for ⁤the players who have worked so hard over the past three years, not⁣ only​ in⁣ their battle at‍ the Olympics but also on their path to victory.

We must reflect on what has happened and set milestones for⁢ the next Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and begin preparations to win the right to participate. While examining why we did not reach our ⁢goal this ⁣time, we will ⁣decide on the next system as soon as possible, especially ⁤since the Japanese ‍men’s national team will have the FIBA‌ ​​Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers in ⁤November. We will fight as one to ensure that the Japanese men’s and women’s national teams for the 5-on-5 and 3×3 teams can participate in the next Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Technical Committee Chairman Tomoya⁣ Higashino’s Statement

Men’s Japan Representative

The team fought bravely, demonstrating Head Coach Hovas’ style of moving people ​and the ball, controlling space and pace. They ​fought without giving up​ until the end, but lost three ​games in a row and were‍ eliminated from the group⁣ phase. Japan finished 11th out of 12 teams.

The fact that they qualified for the tournament on⁤ their own for ⁤the first time in 48 years was a big step,‍ and they have now entered a stage where they are seriously aiming to reach the top eight. This is reflected in their rise from 26th to 21st in ‍the​ FIBA ​​rankings.

Women’s Japanese Representative

In the opening game, they faced the United⁤ States, who had⁢ won the ⁣Olympic‍ Games for eight consecutive years. They fought bravely, but⁤ were unable to embody the shooter ‌corps that wins ⁤by running, and lost by 26 points. In the second ‍game, they lost ‌by 11 points to Germany, and in the third game, ‌they fought against Belgium, whose chances of ‍progressing to the ⁣final tournament⁢ were decided by the score⁣ difference. However, Belgium showed their strength in defense, and they were attacked inside and⁣ got rebounds, and they were eliminated from the group phase. The final‌ result was 12th place⁣ out of 12 teams.

Head coach Onzuka will​ be stepping ‌down this time. This decision was not made solely based on the results of the Olympics, and we value his achievements to date. We are very grateful to Head Coach ‌Onzuka, who⁢ has been involved with the Japanese national team for ⁢a long time, starting as a video coordinator and working with us to‍ create the technical committee. He is a talented person, and we hope he will return ⁤to strengthening the ⁤national team in ⁣the future, but his contract has now expired, and we will be creating a ‍new system by the end of the year.

3×3

The harsh reality is that ⁤we were unable to get through the Olympic qualifiers. Our training system was to use 5-a-side players⁢ in 3-a-side, but we need to fundamentally review it. We will separate it from the 5-a-side system and build a unique 3×3 training system. Younger generations​ are ​emerging, ⁣and the Japanese women’s 3×3 national team won ‍the 2019 U23 World Cup and ​also won a silver medal at the recent U18‌ World Cup. The U23 World Cup ‍will be held from tomorrow, and because we have achieved good results, we ‌will also be considering a generational change. We are currently in the process of arranging our successors to carry out a fundamental review.