“Leaving the country wearing suits.” This is the difference between Korea and Japan

Apart from the difference in skills, the attitude toward 3×3 was different from that of Korea. The sixth round of the NH Nonghyup Bank 2024 KXO 3×3 Budget Tour and KXO League, which ended on Thursday, has successfully completed all scheduled matches despite sudden changes in weather caused by rainy season. The star of the sixth round of the KXO League, which was highly anticipated by Japanese teams, became Sagamihara of Japan.

KXO (Korea 3×3 Basketball Federation), which began exchanges with overseas basketball associations and teams in various ways earlier this year, will join Japan’s Sagamihara and Shinagawa in the sixth round of the KXO League and join them until the seventh round of the KXO League, which is scheduled to be held in August.

Initially, a total of three Japanese 3×3 teams were scheduled to participate in the KXO League until Shinshu, but two Shinshu players from the B League (Japan Professional Basketball League) changed their schedule to call up the existing B-League team, which unfortunately failed to make Shinshu play in the sixth round.

Except for Shinshu, Sagamihara and Shinagawa joined the sixth round of the KXO League as scheduled, and Sagamihara won the sixth round and won the FIBA 3×3 Kaohsiung Challenger 2024 ticket. The honor of winning went to Sagamihara, but Shinagawa impressed KXO officials.

Shinagawa, who entered the KXO league with Naoto Ito (30 years old, 167 centimeters), Hiroto Takeda (20 years old, 190 centimeters), Hotaka Kato (25 years old, 185 centimeters), and Ryoichi Dewa (30 years old, 190 centimeters) in the semifinals, failed to advance to the final unfortunately, allowing Sagamihara a buzzer-beater.

Shinagawa, who is excellent enough to finish second in the 3×3 Japanese Tour in 2023 and second in the EXE Premier League in 2023, has more than 10 players, including Glorda Bourla from Congo, in addition to the four Japanese players who visited Korea this time.

His first impression was not that threatening. He was not a player with small stature and muscular body. Shinagawa, however, was very well prepared as Naoto Ito, the shortest player in the team at 167 centimeters, could play defense under the basket against Sagamihara, which includes players from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In particular, the constant pattern play and vigorous exercise that anyone can see the difference from the Korean 3×3 teams helped me understand at once why Shinagawa players of similar physical size to Koreans showed a high level of performance in the physical game 3×3.

Naoto Ito of Shinagawa said, “We have jobs that everyone has seen, including salespeople and engineers. Everyone played basketball until high school and college, and now they are working as office workers and professional 3×3 players.”

“Everyone has their day jobs, but we are also professional 3×3 players, so we are very serious about participating in 3×3 tournaments. Last year, they were the runner-up in two major Japanese 3×3 tournaments and participated in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour, and they are very committed to participating in the KXO League this time due to their strong sense of challenge. Although they don’t receive as much salary as a 5:5 professional basketball player, they still pride themselves on being a professional 3×3 player,” he said. 에볼루션 바카라사이트

Unfortunately, Shinagawa, who missed the championship but made a strong impression on the Korean 3×3 stage, left Korea by plane at 7 a.m. on the 1st (Monday). When the competition was over, the Shinagawa players immediately returned to their daily lives. In particular, Naoto Ito and Hiroto Takeda headed to the airport wearing suits, saying they had to go to work immediately after entering Japan. They were Shinagawa players who didn’t hesitate to participate in the KXO League to stand on a 3×3 court, even though they knew they had to get on a plane to go to work.

“It seems like going to work all night long is the life of a professional 3×3 player (laughs). We have to do well in both areas. In order to do 3×3, you have to keep your job sharp. As a 3×3 player, you don’t get paid a lot of money, you need a job to live your life. There are some difficulties, but I think I will continue this life until I feel less inclined towards 3×3.”

On June 29 and 30, the 2024 Woori WON 3×3 Triple Jam hosted by the WKBL (Korea Women’s Basketball Federation) was held as well as the NH Nonghyup Bank 2024 KXO 3×3 budget tour and the sixth round of the KXO League. Tickets for the international competition were also at stake, and the championship was won by Japan’s Florishi Gunma.

Coincidentally, two tickets for men’s and women’s 3×3 international competitions, which were held in two domestic 3×3 competitions held on the same day, were all given to Japanese 3×3 teams. The stage was prepared by Korea, but the main characters were the Japanese 3×3 teams. With great disappointment, it became the last weekend of June, when I realized how much the difference between Korea and Japan’s 3×3 has widened, which began with their perception of 3×3.