The Japanese basketball player Rui Hachimura, the biggest current star of this sport in the country, has given up participating in the Basketball World Cup this summer, which is held in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan itself, to focus on the NBA, he announced. this Tuesday the Japanese federation.
The decision comes after "intensive discussions" with Hachimura and his representation agency, Wasserman, and after "exhaustively considering his contract in the NBA," the Japan Basketball Association (JBA) explained in a statement, which has decided to respect "the desires" of the player and not summon him for the World Cup.
The news of Hachimura's resignation comes just a few hours after another great basket star, Victor Wembanyama, brand new number one in the NBA draft, also chose not to represent France in the World Cup, which will be held from 25 August to September 10.
The 25-year-old power forward, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers after stints with the Washington Wizards, was expected to play a key role alongside the co-host team. In the statement released by the JBA, Hachimura apologized to the fans "who have been looking forward to the World Cup" and said it was "a very difficult decision."
"I have made this decision after prioritizing and considering my future NBA career as I prepare to be my first free agent after last season and a long playoff run. I will also focus on training this summer to get in shape for next season", explained the player.
The basketball player thanked all the parties involved for their understanding and wished his teammates "the best", whom he said he will support "as their biggest supporter".
The Japanese coach, Tom Hovasse, expected Hachimura to share the field with his teammate and fellow NBA player Yuta Watanabe, with the aspiration of positioning the team as the best Asian ranked team and securing a place for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Watanabe reacted to the announcement about Hachimura with a message on his profile on the social network Twitter in which he ventured to confirm his call-up and attendance at the World Cup, but in which he claims to "understand Rui's feelings to make the decision."
Hachimura, with a Japanese mother and a Beninese father, was on the preliminary list of those summoned by Japan for the appointment published on the 19th, which still has to be reduced from 25 to 12 players.
Japan will face Germany on the opening day. All the matches that will be played on Japanese territory will take place in Okinawa, in the southwest of the archipelago.
