RUI Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe are part of Japan's Olympic team roster after all.
The Japanese Basketball Association announced its 12-man pool for the upcoming games with the NBA players, arguably the best basketball products from the Land of the Rising Sun, spearheading the list.
Hachimura, who is coming off a solid sophomore season with the Washington Wizards, and Watanabe, who impressed in his third NBA season with the Toronto Raptors, were joined by Yudai Baba of the Melbourne United in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) as the three new faces in coach Julio Lamas' lineup.
Gavin Edwards gets nod
Gavin Edwards of the B.League champions Chiba Jets got the nod to be the Akatsuki Five's naturalized player, nosing out Ryan Rossiter for the spot.
Joining him in the roster are B.League MVP Kosuke Kanamaru of SeaHorses Mikawa, Yuki Togashi (Chiba Jets), Makoto Hiejima (Utsunomiya Brex), Daiki Tanaka (Alvark Tokyo), Avi Koki Schafer (SeaHorses Mikawa), Leo Vendrame (SunRockers Shibuya), Tenketsu Harimoto (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins), and Hugh Watanabe (University of California-Davis).
Those nine players suited up in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark last month, where Japan did enough to clinch a spot to the continental showpiece in Indonesia in August.
Before that, though, Japan will aim to make its mark at home as it hosts 2019 Fiba World Cup champion Spain, Argentina, and Kaunas OQT winner Slovenia in a loaded Group C in the July 25 to August 7 event.
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