The is a Japanese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...

that competes in the second division of the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

Franchise history

Foundation

In 2020, Japanet announced the creation of

's first professional basketball club. The club was formally launched on July 10, and will compete in B3 or the third division of the

beginning the 2021–22 season. The company was established with as the president and CEO, and as the director. The company is responsible for the operation and promotion of the basketball club as well as the management of the athletes. The company headquarters is located in Manzaimachi,

Nagasaki City is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the Na ...

, Nagasaki Prefecture. On January 26, 2021, the team announced that

Takumi Ito Takumi Ito ( ja, 伊藤匠; born 3 February 2000) is a Guamanian footballer who plays as a defender for Ezra. Career Ito was voted 2017 IIAAG Most Valuable Player. In 2021, he signed for Japanese side Ichikawa SC. Before the 2022 season, he sig ...

will serve as the head coach and general manager.

Naming the team

In July 2020, the management asked suggestions for the team name. On September 15, they revealed that the 2,324 entries were narrowed down to three prospects: , and . To select the team name, online voting was done and voting events were also held in different parts of the Nagasaki Prefecture. On October 30, the club name ''Nagasaki Velca'' was unveiled. "Velca" is derived from the words "welcome," "well community" and "victory."

Promotion to B2

The team finished their inaugural season with 42 wins and 3 losses, setting a B3 record with a .933 winning percentage. They were subsequently named B3 Champions and earned a promotion to B2 or the second division of the

. On May 17, 2022, the team announced that

will continue to serve as the general manager and

Kenjiro Maeda is a current professional basketball assistant coach for Nagasaki Velca in Japan and the former assistant coach for the Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United c ...

, who was the team's associate head coach, will take over as the head coach beginning the 2022–23 season. On May 29, B.League announced that Nagasaki will compete in the West conference of B2.

Uniform

Jersey sponsors

On April 29, 2021, the team announced that Nishikawa is the jersey sponsor beginning the 2021–22 season.

Current roster

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have either:
- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team. * Masaya Karimata *

Javier Carter Javier Dione Carter (born May 20, 1991), nicknamed Air, is a Panamanian professional basketball player for Akita Northern Happinets in Japan. Born in the United States, he has competed internationally with the Panama men's national basketball tea ...

Head coaches

* Takuma Ito: 2021–2022 *

: 2022–present

Management

Ownership

General managers

Arenas

* Nagasaki Prefectural Gymnasium The team is set to open a new arena in 2024.

Practice facilities

The team opened a new practice facility, the , in

Sasebo City is a Core cities of Japan, core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population de ...

on May 27, 2021.

Fanbase

The fan club of the team is called .

References

External links

* {{Japanese B.League Nagasaki Velca Basketball teams in Japan Sports teams in Nagasaki Prefecture Basketball teams established in 2020 2020 establishments in Japan