On June 25, the Japanese women’s basketball team revealed its 12-player squad for the Paris Olympics, with 36-year-old veteran Yamasaki Aimi making the cut, while Okoye Momoka was not selected.
The full Japanese roster is as follows:
Yamasaki Aimi (PG/165cm/JBA)
Takada Makiko (C/185cm/Denso Alice)
Machida Rui (PG/162cm/Fujitsu Redwave)
Miyazawa Yuki (PF/183cm/Fujitsu Redwave)
Honoka Hashimoto (PG/164cm/Tokyo Haneda Vixens)
Sakai Natsuki (SF/173cm/Fujitsu Redwave)
Magu Evelyn (PF/180cm/Denso Alice)
Machida Azu (PG/167cm/ENEOS Saint-Hilda)
Akaho Hikari (PF/184cm/Denso Alice)
Magu Stephanie (PF/182cm/CASADEMONT ZARAGOZA)
Yamamoto Mai (PG/163cm/Toyota Antenna)
Higashitani Nanao (SF/175cm/Toyota Textile)
According to media personality @San Tudai Ci, nine of these twelve players – Machida Azu, Sakai Natsuki, Miyazawa Yuki, Machida Rui, Takada Makiko, Magu Evelyn, Honoka Hashimoto, Higashitani Nanao, and Akaho Hikari – participated in the Tokyo Olympics 5-on-5 women’s basketball tournament. Magu Stephanie and Yamamoto Mai were part of the Tokyo Olympics 3×3 women’s basketball team, while Yamasaki Aimi had previously competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics. All twelve athletes have prior Olympic experience.
Women’s Basketball Olympic Draw:
Group A: China, Serbia, Spain, Puerto Rico
Group B: France, Canada, Nigeria, Australia
Group C: USA, Germany, Japan, Belgium