On the 25th, the Japan Basketball Association announced the women’s representative players for the Paris Olympics, which will begin on July 26th. Twelve players were selected, including sisters Evelyn and Stephanie Magua and Rui Machida. All 12 players have Olympic experience.
The 12 players selected are:
Asami Yoshida PG (Japan Basketball Association)
Maki Takada C (DENSO)
Rui Machida PG (Fujitsu)
Yuki Miyazawa PF (Fujitsu)
Naoko Motohashi SG (Tokyo Haneda)
Saki Hayashi SF (Fujitsu)
Maugui Evelyn PF (DENSO)
Saori Miyazaki PG (ENEOS)
Ako Himawari PF (DENSO)
Stephanie Magua PF (CASADEMONT ZARAGOZA)
Mai Yamamoto SG (Toyota Motor Corporation)
Nanako Toudou SF (Toyota Boseki)
(PG: Point Guard, SG: Shooting Guard, SF: Small Forward, PF: Power Forward, C: Center)
Evelyn: “I’ll bring home the gold medal!” Lin: “I’ll keep training for the rest of the time” – renewed determination
In an interview on the 21st after the team’s two consecutive wins in friendly matches against Australia in Sapporo, Evelyn Magua spoke of her determination for the Paris Olympics, saying, “No matter who our team members are at the Olympics, I want everyone to give it their all and come back with our goal of winning the gold medal.”
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Captain Saki Hayashi commented on the selection of the 12 representatives: In keeping with Coach Onzuka’s concept of a ‘shooter corps that runs and wins,’ we will continue to train for the remainder of the season so that we can compete with the world playing Japanese-style basketball without being slowed down by any opponent,” he said with determination.
In the qualifying league for the Paris Olympics, Japan (ranked 9th in the world) will face the United States (ranked 1st), Germany (ranked 19th), and Belgium (ranked 6th), the teams they lost to in the final of the Tokyo Games.
Prior to the actual Olympics, the women’s national team will play international friendly matches against New Zealand (ranked 26th) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo over two days, July 4th and 6th, marking the first match for the 12 selected players.
Fuji Television will broadcast live the first match between Japan and New Zealand from 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 4th.
Source: Japanese
Gallery page here (9 photos)