Although he was not selected for the Olympics, he greedily traveled to Europe… Takashi Sasaki, PG candidate for the Japanese national team, “I want to focus on myself” |

■ Olympic belt: “It’s a good thing for me”

November 13, at the end of this monthQualification for the 2025 FIBA ​​Asia CupBasketball holds training camp just before “window 2”Japan Men’s National Team(21st in the FIBA ​​rankings) the media day was held, and he is one of the candidates for the national team.Takashi Sasaki(Sanen Neo Phoenix) to express their commitment.

Sasaki, who is currently 28 years old, is a 180cm point guard. This summer, he was listed as a finalist for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but unfortunately he was not selected, but he was included in the Japanese team as a support member. Inspired by seeing the highest competition in the world with his own eyes, he has led the team as the control tower for Sanen, who leads the division in the “Resona Group B .LEAGUE 2024-25 SEASON” which started in October this year.

After a fulfilling summer, Sasaki says he has become more “greedy” than ever. A master who has slow-paced play weapons.Dennis Schroder(German national team), he shared an episode of seeing a world-class performance, but the sight of his teammates carrying the Japanese flag on their backs left a strong impression on him.

“It was a great experience for me to be able to see closely how Japan’s top players prepare and how they think when they play, such as in their lockers before matches.

■ Japan national team PG fight without “without Kawamura”

Just before the Olympics, he participated in warm-up games as a candidate for the Japanese national team.Takashi Sasaki[Dealbh]= Takehiko Noguchi

During this national team activity, he was the main guard for Horvath Japan.Yuki Kawamura(NBA Memphis Grizzlies) and other foreign teams that do not participate. As the Japanese national team continues to focus on the World Cup and the upcoming Olympics, a new playmaker is expected to emerge, and there will be a group of experienced players in this training camp.Yuki Togashi(Chiba Jets), as well as Sasaki,Takuto Nakamura(Hiroshima snakebite)Sota Oura(Sanen Neo Phoenix) and others. The high expectations can be seen from the fact that head coach Horvath first mentioned Sasaki’s name during his press conference regarding the renewal of his contract as someone who will fill the void left by Kawamura’s absence.

Sasaki said, “I’m happy to be back at the national team’s training camp like this,” but regarding the upcoming competition for the Japan national team’s starting pitcher, “I think my job is to play that kind of basketball. Tom-san wants. gently analyze.

While changing to “Hobasketball,” he said, “Basically, I think they called me after seeing how I played at San-en, so I think have played as I do at San-en military.

The Japanese national team started a training camp at the Ajinomoto National Training Center in Tokyo on the 11th, and will play against the Mongolian national team (108th in the same league) at Nikkan Arena Tochigi on the 21st, followed by an away game on -against the Guam national team (80th in the same league) on the 24th.