[1/2 Final] Philippines - Japan

[judasmartel]

A rematch of the Round 2 game between the Philippines and Japan.

Gilas prevailed in that game with their defense and big time plays, but the Hayabusa gave them a hard time with their equally pesky defense and hot shooting.

Japan definitely on a mission, as they are out to prove something as the hosts of the 2020 Olympics, plus their female counterparts are already in Rio.

[CKR13]

Japan already has overachieved with an 11 man crew minus Furukawa and with just two 6'9 players in Ota and Joji Takeuchi. Either Japan is caught in its celebration or it shows up pesky and disruptive. Despite the so called close game between this two teams in the second round, Philippines were saving their strength for Iran in the next day.

For the Philippines, the team is on a mission to win this tournament and no way they will play relax. Could be straight up unrelenting full-court pressure from them on the get go.

[athangonzales]

Philippines ftw!

[Federoy]

Although I think Japan's miracle run ends against the Philippines, I give them a credit for making it this far. It's hard to believe that this is Japan's first semi-final appearance in 18 years.

[CKR13]

^^ Yeah but Japan's generation back in the late 90s was superb. Kenichi Sako, Makoto Hasegawa, Takahiro Setsumasa and Takehiko Orimo + Mike Takahashi will never be replicated.

[black_thorne2001]

i remember this guy Takehiko Orimo they almost beat the philippines in the 2002 asian games with his hot shooting from beyond the arc

[weward]

i remember this guy Takehiko Orimo they almost beat the philippines in the 2002 asian games with his hot shooting from beyond the arc

what year was that incident between Espino and Orimo?
"phantom punch"

[judasmartel]

^^ Yeah but Japan's generation back in the late 90s was superb. Kenichi Sako, Makoto Hasegawa, Takahiro Setsumasa and Takehiko Orimo + Mike Takahashi will never be replicated.

Is he related to Coach Kenji Hasegawa or they just happen to have the same surname?

I have to ask you, CKR13, do you think the manga Slam Dunk contributed to Japan's golden age in the 90's, and the manga Kuroko no Basuke and the light novel Ro-Kyu-Bu! (grade school/U12 girls basketball) to the current golden generation of Japanese women's basketball?

Are there other factors to the success of the current Japanese women's NT as well?

Thanks in advance.

[CKR13]

Is he related to Coach Kenji Hasegawa or they just happen to have the same surname?

I have to ask you, CKR13, do you think the manga Slam Dunk contributed to Japan's golden age in the 90's, and the manga Kuroko no Basuke and the light novel Ro-Kyu-Bu! (grade school/U12 girls basketball) to the current golden generation of Japanese women's basketball?

Are there other factors to the success of the current Japanese women's NT as well?

Thanks in advance.

About coach Kenji related to Makoto, I have no idea but Hasegawa is a common surname in Japan.

Slam Dunk's manga and anime helped raise the popularity of basketball in the mid 90's and by that time, Japan was at their zenith with Hasegawa's generation. It inspired players like Fumihiko Aono, Tomoo Amino, Daiji Yamada, Kei Igarashi and younger players such as Takuya Kawamura and Keijuro Matsui to take up basketball.

The growth of women's basketball started with large Japanese corporations forming a corporate league known as the WJBL in the early 90s, primarily to qualify for tax exemptions from the government as operating a basketball club based on the corporate circle costs less compared to domestic taxes. All of a sudden, women can play basketball as a career while being employed in the same corporation during the off-season. Basketball for women grew even further with Mikiko Hagiwara making it to the WNBA for a short time. It was further given aspiration when people realized that women's national teams are just as competitive to China and other nations. Yuko Oga and Ramu Tokashiki are also further pushing the popularity of basketball in Japan.

[judasmartel]

About coach Kenji related to Makoto, I have no idea but Hasegawa is a common surname in Japan.

Slam Dunk's manga and comic book helped raise the popularity of basketball in the mid 90's and by that time, Japan was at their zenith with Hasegawa's generation. It inspired players like Fumihiko Aono, Tomoo Amino, Daiji Yamada, Kei Igarashi and younger players such as Takuya Kawamura and Keijuro Matsui to take up basketball.

The growth of women's basketball started with large Japanese corporations forming a corporate league known as the WJBL in the early 90s, primarily to qualify for tax exemptions from the government as operating a basketball club based on the corporate circle costs less compared to domestic taxes. All of a sudden, women can play basketball as a career while being employed in the same corporation during the off-season. Basketball for women grew even further with Mikiko Hagiwara making it to the WNBA for a short time. It was further given aspiration when people realized that women's national teams are just as competitive to China and other nations. Yuko Oga and Ramu Tokashiki are also further pushing the popularity of basketball in Japan.

So it's Slam Dunk ultimately doing things for Japanese basketball, then.

Was the 2002 game vs the Philippines the one where Orimo got into an altercation with Filipino player Dennis Espino?

[CKR13]

So it's Slam Dunk ultimately doing things for Japanese basketball, then.

Was the 2002 game vs the Philippines the one where Orimo got into an altercation with Filipino player Dennis Espino?

Yes from the 2002 AG during the QF. Orimo was about to receive the ball from Takeshi Yuki's inbound pass.

[judasmartel]

Anyways, hats off to the Japanese men's NT, they made it all the way to the OQT without a naturalized player and some of their key players.

EDIT: Hmm, interesting point about Japanese women's basketball. So it started out with an inter-corporation basketball league, then it took off from there, huh.

Kind of reminds me of the current Hong Kong men's NT. Most of their players are weekend warriors with full-time jobs, only playing basketball as a hobby. Now they are playing competitively against the Asian mid-tier teams India, Palestine, and Kazakhstan.

Interested in how this works out for HK.

May the best team win it all this year.

LABAN PILIPINAS!

[mvpshaq32]

Japan already has overachieved with an 11 man crew minus Furukawa and with just two 6'9 players in Ota and Joji Takeuchi. Either Japan is caught in its celebration or it shows up pesky and disruptive. Despite the so called close game between this two teams in the second round, Philippines were saving their strength for Iran in the next day.

For the Philippines, the team is on a mission to win this tournament and no way they will play relax. Could be straight up unrelenting full-court pressure from them on the get go.

11 man crew? Did Furukawa get injured?

[judasmartel]

11 man crew? Did Furukawa get injured?

Probably in the ribs like what Qatar did to Lebanon's Ahmad Ibrahim.

Dirty players, the AfriQataris are. Good thing Japan beat them. They are a disgrace to international sports with nationalities being sold like commodities to needy athletes.

[CKR13]

11 man crew? Did Furukawa get injured?

Oops I mean Kanamaru. Kanamaru aggravated his injury days away from FIBA Asia. Japan did not bother paying the fees for a substitute player to be named so they went ahead with 11 players.