【13人中12人が新加入】福島ファイヤーボンズ開幕　B1川崎から移籍益子拓己選手に注目

Tomorrow is the opening day of the basketball season for the Fukushima Firebonds. This season, 12 of the 13 players are new, making for a brand new team. And next season, the B.League will also be changing from B1 and B2 to the top league categories of "B.League Premier" and "B.League One." The Firebonds have decided to join "B.League One." What will change is that promotion and relegation will be eliminated, and teams will be categorized based on criteria such as attendance and sales, rather than wins and losses. The Firebonds are aiming to join "B.Premier" in as little as four years, and if they do, they will be able to watch games against popular teams like the Chiba Jets in Fukushima. This means that players of Japan's national team caliber will also be coming to Fukushima. However, there are high hurdles to overcome. For example, how can they increase the number of spectators? The team has begun its challenge to attract an average of 4,000 spectators in order to join "B.Premier." The Fukushima Firebonds, a B2 basketball team, are set for their opening game tomorrow. Their home stadium, the Horai-ya Bonds Arena, underwent renovations in April of this year and has been reborn. Tickets for the team's final home game, which marked the team's grand opening, were nearly sold out, with a capacity of 5,000. Features included a large screen, smoke effects, LED lighting, and more. The extraordinary entertainment space thrilled the fans. The B. League will be changing categories next season, and the Firebonds have been selected to join "B. League One." There are three prerequisites for joining the top "B. League Premier" league: A 5,000-seat arena, which they have met with the completion of their new arena. Annual sales of 1.2 billion yen, and, crucially, an average attendance of 4,000 people. Last season, the Firebonds' average attendance was around 2,000 people. So, they've launched a new initiative with the goal of reaching 4,000 people! First, they distributed posters in front of Koriyama Station last month. And then...a Firebonds player appeared. It seems this is the first time that players themselves have participated. Okubo Tomoki: "Thank you for your support this season." Shop owner: "Good luck." Shop owner: "I'm so happy...really. Until now, it was the staff who asked for help, but it's different when a big guy actually comes." As we spoke to new American-born player Okubo... Okubo Tomoki: "It was a great experience. Everyone was so kind, and I'm so happy they took my poster." He even asked for an autograph. The players also visited an unexpected place. An elementary school in Koriyama City. Captain Kasai handed out flyers and conducted a greeting campaign. In addition, the players and staff are united in their efforts to create the prefecture's first sports-focused free paper, "Bonds Fukushi Magazine," and are working to attract an average of 4,000 attendees. This year's team welcomes new head coach Ryan Marchand, and with 12 of the 13 players being new recruits, the Firebonds are a reborn team. The focus is on Takumi Mashiko, who transferred from the B1 Kawasaki Brave Thunders. A 25-year-old from Fukuoka Prefecture, this is his fourth year as a pro. Mashiko is fast and skilled at aggressive defense that gives off momentum. "When I play basketball, I'm generally very emotional, so I'm always making noise on the bench or on the court...I'm a bit of a wild man (laughs). I want you to see my aggressiveness outside of my play, too." And then, while watching practice, I noticed this: Takumi Mashiko: "I've always had long arms and legs, even since I was little." It's generally said that the length of your outstretched arms is roughly the same as your height... Takumi Mashiko: "Are you in the frame?" Mashiko is 186 cm tall and his arms are approximately 2 meters long. His defensive skills, which make use of his incredibly long arms and legs, are also noteworthy. Takumi Mashiko: "With so many players coming in and out, I think this will be a difficult season, but our first goal is to play our own basketball, so I'll do my best." The opening game against Yokohama Excellence will be held at Horai-ya Bonds Arena on October 4th at 3:00 PM. This video was broadcast on Fukushima Chuo TV on October 3rd. #firebonds #FukushimaFirebonds #bleaue #bleague #professionalbasketball #basketball #Takumi Mashiko