JUSTINE Baltazar is officially heading to Japan.
The Hiroshima Dragonflies signed the La Salle forward on Thursday as they welcome him for the 2022-23 Japan B.League season. Terms of the deal were noit disclosed.
"Before signing the contract, I was thinking about my family first. Of course, I also had a strong desire to join this team. However, after considering my wife and son, I thought that Hiroshima Dragonflies was a wonderful team for my family," he said.
"It is a great honor to be a member of the team. I would like to do my best to contribute to the club."
The 6-foot-7 forward from Pampanga is coming off a successful final season with the Green Archers where he earned a spot in the Mythical Team, averaging 12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block to lead the team back to the Final Four.
This early, Hiroshima is ecstatic to welcome the Gilas Pilipinas big man for the next campaign.
"I am confident that the variation of offense will increase. I think that it will be possible to reduce the tactics of the team as soon as possible even after joining the team because the awareness of the team is very high and the basketball IQ is also high. I look forward to the success that leads the team to victory," said Dragonflies general manager Shuji Okazaki.
Hiroshima is coming off a 29-28 record this past season where the team finished 12th overall in the league.
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