00:01Japan was one of the stories of the FIBA World Cup in 2023.
00:05Japan, get on your feet.
00:08You are going to the Olympics.
00:14And this year, the nation's biggest star could be back to help them recapture that magic.
00:20Oh! Rui Hachimura! He just ripped through the ozone layer.
00:26Rui Hachimura has been named in new head coach Dai Okitani's extended squad of 53 players ahead of a busy
00:34summer.
00:35One that includes the third and fourth windows of World Cup 2027 qualifiers, along with the Asian Games on home
00:42soil starting in September.
00:44Inside Hachimura! Pounds at home!
00:48If that doesn't get it going, I don't know what will.
00:51It would be a huge boost if Hachimura is available.
00:54The forward averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds at each of the past two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris, but
01:01missed that 2023 World Cup run.
01:06And following the end of his NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers, he is going into free agency.
01:13And said after his side's playoff exit that his immediate focus is on his next NBA deal.
01:19I love this team, you know, I love this organization since I got here, you know, it's my fourth season
01:23with them, you know.
01:25I really appreciate them, you know.
01:27So what they've done for me, you know, they did a lot for me, you know.
01:30And, yeah, I just, yeah, I love here.
01:33But at the end of the day, you know, I'm not the one negotiating.
01:38Also in this squad is Yuki Kawamura, one of the heroes of that memorable 2023 campaign, who spent this season
01:45on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls.
01:56While the team's leading scorer in Okinawa, center Josh Hawkinson, has been included as well, alongside forward Yuta Watanabe and
02:05shooting guard Keisei Tominaga.
02:12That quartet produced Japan's best moment in recent memory, coming back from 18 points down against Finland to record its
02:20first-ever win over a European opponent.
02:23Ball finds his hands. Tominaga!
02:28Japan has made history.
02:31They have defeated their first European squad.
02:36The Akatsuki Five would finish the tournament as Asia's best team, earning a place at the Paris Olympics.
02:43And though they were unable to taste victory, they pushed host nation and eventual silver medalist France to overtime,
02:49while an early exit at last year's FIBA Asia Cup came with several key players missing.
02:57Under Okitani, who took over from Tom Hovas earlier this year,
03:02Japan heads into the third qualifying window, leading Group B with a 3-1 record,
03:07facing China on July 3 and Korea three nights later.
03:14And the team that showed what it is capable of at the last World Cup
03:18will be looking to go on another historic journey at the next one.
03:25For all the latest on the road to FIBA World Cup 2027, head to FIBA.Basketball.
03:31The Preès you would see enjoy paying attention to the new track,
03:31the Maus orısı Ulus 6.
03:32We need to get up.
03:32We need to pass on the travel side by letting us know it to the next day,
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