B.LEAGUE MVP Kosuke Kanamaru and naturalized player Gavin Edwards lead the 12-man line-up of Japan in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers set to start on Wednesday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
Kanamaru, a product of the Seahorse Mikawa, is joined in the roster by B.League Mythical Five winner Yuki Togashi, who played for the Chiba Jets squad that won the 2020-2021 season of the league.
Yuki Togashi is among Japan's key players.
Another player from Chiba is Edwards, who will be Japan’s naturalized player for its match against China on Thursday.
Also making the roster are Seiya Ando, Makoto Hiejima, Leo Vendrame, Kosuke Takeuchi, Shuto Ando, Joji Takeuchi, Avi Schaefer, Harimoto Tenketsu, and Hugh Watanabe, who is part of the University of California-Davis basketball team in the United States.
Japan is also using the qualifiers as part of the team’s preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where the country has a spot being the host.
This despite not be fielding its NBA players Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe in the qualifiers.
Japan will also play Chinese Taipei on Friday, before playing China again on Saturday.
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