00:00Japan was one of the stories of the FIBA World Cup in 2023.
00:04Japan, get on your feet.
00:07You are going to the Olympics.
00:13And this year, the nation's biggest star could be back to help them recapture that magic.
00:19Oh!
00:20Rui Hachimura!
00:22He just ripped through the ozone layer.
00:25Rui Hachimura has been named in new head coach Dai Okitani's extended squad of 53 players ahead of a busy
00:33summer.
00:34One that includes the third and fourth windows of World Cup 2027 qualifiers, along with the Asian Games on home
00:41soil starting in September.
00:43Inside Hachimura!
00:45Pounds at home!
00:47If that doesn't get it going, I don't know what would.
00:50It would be a huge boost if Hachimura is available.
00:53The forward averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds at each of the past two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris, but
01:00missed that 2023 World Cup run.
01:05And following the end of his NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers, he is going into free agency and
01:12said after his side's playoff exit that his immediate focus is on his next NBA deal.
01:18I love this team, you know, I love this organization since I got here, you know, it's my fourth season
01:22with them, you know, I really appreciate them, you know, so far what they've done for me, you know, they
01:29did a lot for me, you know, and yeah, I just, I love here, but at the end of the
01:33day, you know, I'm not the one negotiating.
01:36Also in this squad is Yuki Kawamura, one of the heroes of that memorable 2023 campaign who spent this season
01:44on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls.
01:55While the team's leading scorer in Okinawa center Josh Hawkinson has been included as well, alongside forward Yuta Watanabe and
02:04shooting guard Kese Tominaga.
02:11That quartet produced Japan's best moment in recent memory, coming back from 18 points down against Finland to record its
02:19first ever win over a European opponent.
02:35The Akatsuki Five would finish the tournament as Asia's best team, earning a place at the Paris Olympics, and though
02:42they were unable to taste victory,
02:44they pushed host nation and eventual silver medalist France to overtime, while an early exit at last year's FIBA Asia
02:51Cup came with several key players missing.
02:56Under Okitani, who took over from Tom Hovas earlier this year, Japan heads into the third qualifying window, leading Group
03:04B with a 3-1 record, facing China on July 3 and Korea three nights later.
03:13And the team that showed what it is capable of at the last World Cup will be looking to go
03:19on another historic journey at the next one.
03:24For all the latest on the road to FIBA World Cup 2027, head to FIBA.Basketball.
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