No one believed it was possible. Not the coach, not the players, not the fans, not even foxy half naked cheerleaders. In the first game of the Season 19 Asia Tournament the downtrodden Nippon National Team, under new management and still getting to know each other, travelled to Manila, Philippines to play the host nation and #18 ranked Pilippinas National Team. Expecting to get destroyed by this perennial power house the team approached the match up more as a scrimmage and came in loose ready to give a low effort, learn a few things about each other and make the most of the coming loss. Well, it’s seems that the relaxed approach and the ease the players came into the game with, along with a masterful game plan from their new leader was more that their opponent was ready for. After 4 quarters of close action and amazing play from the Japanese Nationals, Nippon took the lead in the final minutes and pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Nippon NT history.

The effort was led by their Star center and long-time fan favorite, Yusuke Furusawa who was both top scorer (32) and top rebounder (16). Top assist man for the game was Takatoshi Tagawa and the best bench play came from Rikkio Egguchi

This win certainly will raise the fans expectations of the team and will also help them achieve their goal of advancing to the second round of the tournament. A win like this sure will add the pressure if it can’t be repeated.

Depth chart for this game was as follows:

Point Guard
$ - Takatoshi Tagawa
Rikkio Eguchi
Haruki Fujii

Shooting Guard
Hideki Ochi
Rikkio Eguchi
Masatomo Saiki

Small Forward
Tooro Oishi
Naoya Ueda
Masatomo Saiki

Power Forward
Yusuke Furusawa
$ - Mitsuo Shibukji
Satashi Hayakawa

Center
Hirofumi Sonoda
Satashi Hayakawa
$ - Mitsuo Shibukji

$ - Yuhei Suenami - was not in line-up do to poor game shape.

$ - Indicates players is currently for sale and looking for a good home.

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Nippon NT Explodes to Amazing First Win