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Rather than focus on the things that I can’t control, I thought I would write about something more positive in relation to Japan’s sports. We have always admired Japanese peoples cultural values, hard working attitude, discipline, and their constant quest for perfection.
They are an Asian nation, which is classified as a “First World and Fully Developed country.” They love rice and noodles just as much as we do, and they are considered as a superpower in both the commerce and technology industries.
In November 2019, I was the Public Relations Officer and Game Announcer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers, which were held at MABA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur. Four nations competed in this said tournament – Chinese Taipei, India, Australia and Japan. The top two teams in the group would qualify for the next round.
Japan’s coach is a US native and former NBA Atlanta Hawk player – Tom Hovasse. After playing in the NBA, Tom played and coached for a number of Japan basketball clubs before taking on the Japan Women’s Head Coach role in 2017. He speaks the language fluently and even coaches the team in a very precise Japanese manner. His team talks are not long, as he gets straight to the point quickly and finishes his communication with a clap.
Tom is a super friendly guy and I regard him as a basketball friend. We drop each other emails every so often. During the tournament, Tom shared with me that his Women’s team trains four times a day and that includes weight training, shooting, technical drills, and one session dedicated to purely free-throw shooting (Two-shots for a player if they are fouled when trying to score).
Japan’s record in Malaysia during the qualifiers was a perfect 3-0. They defeated the Australian team, which has a number of WNBA players including the very talented Liz Cambage, Bec Allen, and Ezi Magbegor, just to name a few. The Aussie girls are significantly taller compared to the Japan women’s team.
Japan defeated the Australian Opals, 82-69. Let’s just say Japan’s extra shooting training paid off during the game as they were hitting a number of three-point shots. The Aussies threw everything they had against their opponents, but Japan’s consistent long-range shooting and solid defence was the difference.
In the post-game interview, Tom said, “With that performance against Australia, we believe we can win the Olympic Gold Medal next year. We just beat the second-best team in the world, and I strongly believe we can win it. I would not say so if I believed otherwise.”
To further test his level of confidence I probed further and said, “Who will be on top of the basketball women’s podium next year?”
Tom replied with no hesitation and said, “Japan. We believe in each other and our GOLD is to win it.”
Now that’s #WinningMentality
You can watch my short video interview with Tom here:
Ben Ibrahim is a TV Commentator, Sports & Media Consultant. In his career, he has also worked for FIBA, FISU and Foxsports.
He also set-up the Malaysia Valke Rugby Club for the 2019/2020 Global Rapid Rugby competition.
You can contact him on his public Facebook page or his Instagram @benibrahim_
