MATTHEW Aquino has been included in Japan's 24-man pool as it added more flexibility for the February window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
The Shinshu Brave Warriors center will have to fight for his spot as he will be joined in the frontline with locals Avi Koki Schafer, Kosuke Takeuchi, Daichi Taniguchi, and Kengo Nemoto.
This is Aquino's second go-round with the Akatsuki Five after being shortlisted in the November window last year. He, however, has yet to crack the final 12.
Still, optimism is high for the son of PBA great Marlou Aquino as he gets exposed to some of the country's elite ballers.
Matthew Aquinto tries to make the final cut.
Naturalized players Nick Fazekas of the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, Ryan Rossiter of Alvark Tokyo, and Luke Evans of Fighting Eagles Nagoya are all tasked to man the paint for Japan.
Veterans Makoto Hiejima, Kosuke Kanamaru, Yuki Togashi, and Seiya Ando will also lead the attack as the Tom Hovasse-coached squad plays Chinese Taipei on Feb. 26 and Australia on Feb. 27, both at Okinawa Arena.
Rounding out the roster are Aki Chambers, Koh Flippin, Takatoshi Furukawa, Shuta Hara, Keita Imamura, Naoya Kumagae, Masaaki Morikawa, Isaiah Murphy, Yudai Nishida, Kengo Nomoto, Takumi Saito, Takuma Sato, and Ryo Terashima.
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