The Tokyo Paralympics, the men's wheelchair basketball team, and the Japanese national team achieved the feat of winning the silver medal, the first medal, despite being unfortunately defeated in the final.

Behind the breakthrough that changed the history of wheelchair basketball from the highest result of 7th place so far was the fact that Japan's unique style built up over 5 years has come to fruition.

New style "Transition Basketball"

He puts pressure on him with aggressive defense, and once he steals the ball, he attacks at a speed that is unnoticeable and accumulates points.

This is a scene that symbolizes Japanese basketball, which has been shown many times against the world's strongest players in terms of physique and power.

Japan came up with this style shortly after giving in to the height and power of the world's strongest players at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and finishing in 9th place.

In order to win a medal at the next Tokyo Games to be held in his own country, he must create an original basketball shape.



Therefore, we aimed for "transition basketball," which allows us to quickly switch between offense and defense.

Immediately after the ball is stolen by pressing the opponent aggressively in the defense, the members start running toward the goal all at once, and it is important to accumulate points with haste before the opponent's defense is ready.



To build this style, the team has been focusing on running and agility training for the last five years, with a "very hard work" that requires 1.5 times more exercise than before.



Before the tournament, head coach Kazuyuki Kyoya said, "I have been trying to improve my physical strength to run the eight games up to the final. I am a team that can run more than anywhere else."

Achieved a feat with a new style

The results of this initiative have been shown as a result of this competition.



There is data called "first breakpoint" in the official record.

This is the number of points scored by making a numerical advantage and attacking quickly before the opponent's defensive formation is formed, so to speak, the number of points scored in "Transition Basketball".

In this tournament, Japan was the top of the 12 participating countries with an average of 11.5 points per game.



Behind the achievement of the feat was the unique basketball style built by the entire team.

Toriumi of the world Aiming for further heights

The 22-year-old Toriumi Renshi played a central role in the offense and defense of the team.


The average value of one game of steal and rebound to steal the opponent's ball is 3rd among all the participating players.

In addition, Assist was 6th, and Toriumi, who is the starting point of his bold defense and attack, contributed greatly to winning the silver medal as an indispensable presence for Japan.



After the match, Toriumi, who suddenly became a player who attracted attention from the world, said, "I want to prove that my goal is to lead a new Japanese national team and this result is not a fluke. In my style, it is more than this silver medal. I want to aim for the gold medal, "he said, looking ahead to the Paris tournament three years from now.



Japan has changed its history with its own style and has reached the point where it is one step closer to the gold medal.

Three years later, the 22-year-old is expected to make a leap forward and evolve "Transition Basketball" in order to reach the top.