FICYMIs Oct.29, 2021: Japan U18 championship, Israeli U15 success, Kamagate 1st-rounder, FIBA/NBA/EuroLeague

Friday In Case You Missed Its: Japan are playing their U18 championship, more Israeli youth success, Paris want to make Ismael Kamagate an NBA 1st-rounder, FIBA talks NBA/EuroLeague

Oct 29, 2021

The end of the work week means Friday In Case You Missed Its - when TTC guides you around some of the items on the internet that may have gone unnoticed by you. This week has Japan playing their U18 domestic championship; Israel’s youth ranks coming up with more success; Paris Basketball stating their goal is to make Ismael Kamagate an NBA first round draft pick; and FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis talks FIBA, NBA and EuroLeague.

Japanese U18 Championship on showcase

Asia in general has been a market that I will admit hasn’t been high on my radar of following. Often really just because of a lack of knowledge and effort in finding things out. While looking around for more information about the B.League, I noticed that the Japanese U18 Championship is being played Friday and Saturday and being streamed live on YouTube. It’s the club championship of the top clubs in the country. Here are a couple of links to some of the information and videos. Unfortunately I don’t have much else than that at the moment. But will be checking them out.

“Win / Lose” is B.League 2021-21 season theme song

Sticking in Japan for just a minute and moving to the pro B.League … the B.League announced that it has an official theme song for the 2021-22 season. It’s called “Win / Lose” as is by Survive the Prophet.

“Win or lose is not the only answer

We learn to live, we live to learn

So win or lose, I’m all in this time

Win or lose is not the only answer”

Next Israeli youth success

Israel have been putting some impressive success together recently at the youth level, winning the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018 and 2019 and taking first place at their FIBA U18 European Challenger 2021 as well. And the 2021 calendar year sees another success as Israel won the FIBA U15 Skills Challenge 2021 - the Israeli women won their U15 event as well. Israel beat Mongolia 108-107 to take the title.

A total of 105 teams had participated in the Qualifiers across Africa, Americas, Asia & Oceania, and Europe, with the top 32 teams competing in the global stage of the men's and women's events. This was the first FIBA U15 Skills Challenge and it followed the FIBA U17 Skills Challenges 2020

Paris Basketball want to make Kamagate an NBA first rounder

There was impressive comments coming out of the up-and-coming Paris Basketball program as they stated is as their goal to turn Ismael Kamagate into a first round draft pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

“He's coming to the training sessions like he's coming to play between two classes. He doesn't give a s*** about the hype. It's really a joy to be around him", said JC Prat in an interview with Envergure. “We want to make him a first round pick, we believe he can", said Prat, confidently. “He has 700 shots (both 2 and 3-pointers) to take everyday. He won't be a 4, he can be a stretch-five, so that's what we are working on. Face-ups, drives, 16-footers, short-roll playmaking : he's working on these a lot.”

FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis talks FIBA, NBA and EuroLeague

Those familiar with European basketball know there is a dispute on-going between FIBA and the Euroleague Basketball. After the Spanish media outlet Marca reported about meetings having taken place between FIBA, NBA and the EuroLeague over a possible European Conference sponsored by the NBA, FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis stressed on the Greek sports show “Pick and Roll” of COSMOTE TV that the body is there for everyone and not looking to divide world basketball, as reported by EuroHoops.net.

EuroHoops offered some highlights from the interview:

Without giving any specific details about the nature of the talks with the EuroLeague and the NBA, Zagklis clearly implied that FIBA would like to have a joint strategy with them for the good of the sport in Europe: “I think that in earlier stages of this relationship, we have overexposed, not only to our audience, whom we have an obligation to inform but more generally. We have overexposed the discussions the disagreements, the objections the arguments/counter-arguments. Without being secretive at all, I believe that the meetings that take place, should take place and should be undertaken in an environment where everyone puts their future strategy on the table and we must see with others where they can go. We have a strategic partnership with the NBA (always in the reports of the FIBA general assembly I refer to the NBA and the IOC as two strategic partners of FIBA, because with the IOC we have a very given strategic coexistence for the Olympic Games and the position of basketball there). And with the NBA we have a strategic partnership to grow the sport worldwide. As I said from the beginning, we need to understand where our teams are going, the clubs, a very important group of European teams, and try to converge the strategies. This is the future. There is no doubt that strategic synergy is the future. Because as I told you, only through unity the pie of the market grows, speaking in commercial terms, but there is no doubt that through this coexistence we will be able to have some things, which are things of common sense regarding the calendar. I do not want to comment on the scenarios. FIBA made a statement that is very clear. I think that the discussions that take place, take place in a good atmosphere and beyond that, it is a matter of moving them forward in this good atmosphere and finding solutions. I do not think that scenarios development is good, neither for our fans nor for our Federations”.
And to be even more precise, he added about the relationship with the EuroLeague: “I think the teams know very well what each of them is looking for. And they know very well that FIBA is always there for them. I do not have any problem, as I have said to them on a private level, to say it publicly: FIBA is here for everyone. For us, it must be evident, regardless of whether we fight for the self-evident… So I do not mind fighting too much for it. I see a wonderful sympathy between the Federations, I see ever-increasing cooperation of the Federations with the Leagues, which makes me very happy, and at the same time, I see a much better degree of communication between the clubs, whether they play in the Euroleague or elsewhere, with their Federations. Being very close to the new start of the national teams’ games for the Qualifications and the new round of the World Cup, this is essential for us”.

Angola to host the November FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers

There was news out of Africa regarding the FIBA Baskeball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers as FIBA Africa confirmed that Angola would be hosting the first window of games next month.

The biggest news of this announcement is that the three-day tournament will be taking place in Benguela from November 26-28 with eight teams in Groups A and C. That is noteworthy because so much of the basketball in Angola is focused on the country’s capital Luanda - hoping to expand the game inside the country. Benguela last hosted a major FIBA tournament during the FIBA AfroBasket 2007.

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