Fukushima Firebonds
| Fukushima Firebonds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Leagues | bj league | ||
| Founded | 2013 | ||
| History | 2014–present | ||
| Arena | Kōriyama Gymnasium (capacity: 7,056) |
||
| Location | Fukushima Prefecture | ||
| Team colors | Fuchsia |
||
| President | Eiji Miyata | ||
| Head coach | Hiroki Fujita | ||
| Ownership | Fukushima Sports Entertainment Co., Ltd. | ||
| Championships | 0 | ||
| Website | http://firebonds/.jp | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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The Fukushima Firebonds (福島ファイヤーボンズ (Fukushima Faiyābonzu?)) is a professional basketball team based in Kōriyama, Fukushima that plays in the bj league, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. The team entered the league as an expansion team in the 2014–15 season.[1]
In July 2015, it was announced that the team will compete in the second division of the B.League, a new league in Japan set to begin play in 2016–17.[2]
Contents
History
In May 2013 Fukushima Prefecture was announced as the successful bidder for an expansion franchise to enter the 2014-15 season of the bj-league. The league management included the region's recovery from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the long-term feasibility of the bidding company, Fukushima Sports Entertainment, as reasons for the successful bid.[3]
In June 2014, the team announced Hiroki Fujita as the inaugural head coach.[4]
As an expansion team, the Firebonds received the first pick in the 2014-15 rookie draft, selecting forward Shota Kanno, a Fukushima Prefecture native. Takumi Masuko was selected in the second round.[4] In July 2014 the team signed American players James Hughes and Nick Thompson as their two foreign players.[5]
2014-15 season
The team commenced play in the bj-league in October 2014 and had their first regular-season win in a match against the Aomori Wat's on 5 October, 2015.[6] The team finished the season with a 21-31 record,[7] securing a playoff berth in the second-last game of the regular season.[8] They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs 0-2 by the Iwate Big Bulls.[9]
2015-16 season
During the off-season, the team renewed the contract of Fujita as head coach [10] and signed Le'Bryan Nash, Joseph Taylor and Stephan Van Treese as import players.[11] Masaya Karimata was named team captain and Kenya Tomori was named vice-captain.[12]
Current roster
Correct as of 7 October 2015[13]
| Number | Player | Position | Height (cm) | Weight (kg) |
| 1 |  Yosuke Hori |
F | 191 | 83 |
| 2 |  Le'Bryan Nash |
SF | 201 | 107 |
| 4 | Masaya Karimata |
G | 178 | 78 |
| 5 | Kenya Tomori |
G | 177 | 75 |
| 8 | Shinya Murakami |
PG | 172 | 64 |
| 9 | Atsushi Nogami |
F | 184 | 72 |
| 20 | Joseph Taylor |
PF/C | 203 | 102 |
| 21 | Shota Kanno |
F | 187 | 83 |
| 28 | Yusuke Masuda |
G | 184 | 78 |
| 41 | Iriya Wajima |
SG/PG | 176 | 78 |
| 44 | Stehpan Van Treese |
C/F | 206 | 111 |
Results by year
Bj-League
| Season | Regular Season | Head Coach | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Losses | Win % | Placing | |||
| 2014-15[7] | 21 | 31 | .404 | 7th (East) | Hiroki Fujita | Eliminated in first round of playoffs[9] |
References
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