U.S. collegiate All-Star Keisei Tominaga and FIBA Basketball World Cup standout Yuki Kawamura were among 24 players named Monday for the Japanese men's national team training camp leading up to a pair of Olympic warmup games against Australia later this month.
Coach Tom Hovasse's Japan team will host Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Australia at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo on June 22 and 23.
Japan successfully advanced through men's Olympic basketball qualification for the first time in 48 years via the 2023 World Cup, which it co-hosted with the Philippines and Indonesia.
Yokohama B-Corsairs guard Kawamura joins several other World Cup players from the domestic B-League heading into the camp. They include veteran guards Makoto Hiejima and Yuki Togashi, center Josh Hawkinson and swingman Yudai Baba.
The 23-year-old Tominaga is aiming for the NBA after helping the Nebraska Cornhuskers reach the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament earlier this year in his final season of college hoops.
University of Hawaii forward Akira Jacobs and 19-year-old NBA Global Academy athlete Yuto Kawashima have also received invitations to the camp. The Japan Basketball Association will announce its candidates for this summer's Paris Olympics at a later date.
