JAPAN is keeping its fingers crossed that top bets Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe will be able to play for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics come July.
The Japanese Basketball Association included the two NBA players, alongside Yudai Baba, in its provisional 18-man pool as it continues its buildup for the quadrennial event.
Hachimura, who played for the Washington Wizards, and Watanabe, who suited up for the Toronto Raptors, are seen as vital cogs in Japan's quest to make a podium finish in the men's basketball tournament.
The two, alongside Baba of Melbourne United in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), did not fly to the Philippines for the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark.
Still, they join the 15 men who helped the Akatsuki Five formally clinch a spot in the continental showpiece as they finished with a 2-2 record in Group B.
Leading the crew is B.League MVP Kosuke Kanamaru of SeaHorses Mikawa, and naturalized players Ryan Rossiter of Utsunomiya Brex and Gavin Edwards of Chiba Jets.
Completing the roster for coach Julio Lamas are Yuki Togashi (Chiba Jets), Makoto Hiejima and Kosuke Takeuchi (Utsunomiya Brex), Naoto Tsuji (Kawasaki Brave Thunders), Seiya Ando, Daiki Tanaka, and Joji Takeuchi (Alvark Tokyo), Avi Koki Schafer (SeaHorses Mikawa), Leo Vendrame (SunRockers Shibuya), Shuto Ando and Tenketsu Harimoto (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins), and Hugh Watanabe (University of California-Davis).
The 15 men, who played in Clark, will be the ones facing Iran in a three-game exhibition series on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday in Miyagi and Iwate.
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