Taiwan Blue coach praises Japanese counterpart ahead of Jones Cup final

Taiwan Blue head coach Kageyama Kenzo expressed his anticipation for the championship game of the 45th William Jones Cup International Basketball Invitational, where his team will face Japan. Kageyama highlighted the unique experience of a head-to-head match between two Japanese coaches, stating, "It's a very interesting experience to face Japan in the championship game."

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It's a very interesting experience to face Japan in the championship game.

He spoke highly of his Japanese counterpart, Oga Yuko, a former superstar player. "She was a superstar player, and I was an unknown," Kageyama said, recalling their encounters at coaching seminars. Having coached in Japan for 18 years before leading Taiwan's women's team, he relishes the competitive matchup.

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She was a superstar player, and I was an unknown.

This tournament is Kageyama's first major event since taking the helm of the Taiwan Blue team. Despite a shaky start in the first quarter, the team showed resilience to tie the score. "We learned a lot and improved a lot this time," he stated, emphasizing the team's goal to correct mistakes in preparation for the Asian Games.

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We learned a lot and improved a lot this time.

Oga Yuko, who led the Japanese team to a five-game winning streak in the tournament, has prior connections to Taiwanese basketball, having previously served as a guest coach at Yang Ming High School. She noted her own history with Taiwan, having first visited at age 16 for a tournament, and her father also had ties to the island. "It's a wonderful thing to be able to have basketball exchanges across nationalities and meet many people who love basketball," she commented.

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It's a wonderful thing to be able to have basketball exchanges across nationalities and meet many people who love basketball.