On the 26th, the Japan Basketball Association announced the final 16 members of the Japanese men’s national team for the Paris Olympics. Rui Hachimura (Lakers), who plays in the NBA in the United States, and Yuta Watanabe (Grizzlies), who has announced that he will play in the B League from next season, have been added to the list.

The final 16 candidates for the national team are as follows:

Yuki Togashi PG (Chiba Jets)
Jacobs Akira SF (University of Hawaii)
Yuki Kawamura PG (Yokohama B-Corsairs)
Shin Hiejima SG (Utsunomiya Brex)
Teves Kai PG (ALBA Tokyo)
Rui Hachimura PF (Los Angeles Lakers)
Yuta Watanabe SF (Memphis Grizzlies)
Kanechika Ren SF (Chiba Jets)
Yudai Baba SF (Nagasaki Velca)
Josh Hawkinson C/PF (Sunrockers Shibuya)
Hiroo Tominaga SG
Takanari Sasaki PG (San-en NeoPhoenix)
Watanabe Hiyuu C (Ryukyu Golden Kings)
Soichiro Inoue PF (Koshigaya Alphas)
Yoshii Hirotaka SF (ALBA Tokyo)
Hiroya Kawamada C (Shiga Lakes)

(PG: Point Guard, SG: Shooting Guard, SF: Small Forward, PF: Power Forward, C: Center)

Hachimura will be joining Tom Horvath’s team for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics, while Watanabe will be returning to the national team for the first time since last summer’s World Cup.

The men’s national team will play friendly matches against South Korea at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on July 5th and 7th.

The number of national team players will then be narrowed down to 12, with coach Hovasse aiming to reach the “top eight” at the Paris Olympics, which begins on July 26th.