After missing the FIBA
Asia q’finals, Japan’s JR Sakuragi thinks his time is probably done.
by rick olivares
After Japan took a 65-56 loss to Jordan to end their
quarterfinals dreams in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships, it was a disappointed
team that trudged off the court. After their opening day 76-59 win over Hong
Kong, Japan lost it’s next four matches by a combined a combined 32 points.
The Japanese nearly defeated Qatar losing only on the
last play of the match for a heartbreaking 75-74 loss. They got bowled over by
the Philippines in their next match before coming out with a fantastic effort
against Chinese Taipei only to be derailed by spotty officiating.
A morose Japan team saw it’s chance slip away against
Chinese Taipei. Although head coach Kimikazu Suzuki was gracious and polite
during the post-match press con, he didn’t bother to hide his disappointment
over the officiating during the Chinese Taipei game. “They (the referees)
killed us,” he said through the team interpreter.
With less than 24 hours to get over the
disappointment, Japan came out with less energy and were booted out by the
Jordanians.
With sweat dripping down his face, JR Sakuragi,
Japan’s naturalized player, strode out with a frown. “We were just really out
of this,” he said unable to hide his displeasure and disappointment. “We lacked
the energy while Jordan was relentless.”
I asked him if he thought of coming back for one more
run with the Japanese national team. At 36 years of age (one of the oldest in
the tournament including China’s Wang Zhizhi and Qatar’s Yasseen Musa),
Sakuragi thinks, he’s done. “We have a lot of younger players coming up. I
think they should be given the exposure and the opportunity.”
During his first FIBA tournament for Japan in 2007,
Sakuragi had little time to mesh with his teammates and they finished eighth in
the competition. The 6’8” Sakuragi registered 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and
2.4 assists for Japan that finished with an even 4-4 record.
Six years later in his second appearance in the
biennial championship tournament for Asia, Sakuragi is averaging nearly
identical numbers at an older age: 11.4 points (on 39% shooting), 11.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Those numbers plummeted against
Jordan where he shot at a poor 10% and registered five points in 34 minutes. “I
played poorly,” he admitted. “I…” His voice trailed off.
With his team at 1-4, the Japanese have three more
games to play in the classification round. “We have a couple of more matches.
Hopefully, we can end on a high note. But it is still disappointing.”
Sakuragi walked off shaking his head.
Additional reading about other players from other countries:
Players I like in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships
Hong Kong hopes to learn from Philippines
It's not a W but Hong Kong hopes good vibes will carry over
Meet Japan superfan Eiji Tomita
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