is a professional basketball team playing in 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 ...

, the top-tier professional basketball league of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. The team is operated by the Human Group Sports Entertainment Company. The team is named after Ebisu. In July 2015 it was announced that the team will compete in the first division of the new

Japan Professional Basketball 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 ...

, which will commence from October 2016.

History

The team was formed in 2004 with the expansion of the

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official g ...

. They have been the most successful team in the league, having won three league championships in the league's first three seasons. During the 2007-08 season, the team played their home games in seven separate arenas throughout the

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nar ...

and Hyogo Prefecture. This was also the first season that the team's game were broadcast live on television (for two games). The total attendance for their home games was 66,069, and the average attendance 3,003. The team finished in first place during the regular season and won the championship for the third consecutive season. The 2008-09 season was the first season that the team did not use the

Namihaya Dome is an indoor sporting arena located in Kadoma city in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan. Construction was completed in early 1996. The primary architect was Mamoru Kawaguchi, founder of the firm Kawaguchi & Engineers. The dome is composed largel ...

for any of their home games.

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

13 Evessa players and trainer have tested positive for

Coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the co ...

in April 2020. Some other Osaka players may be infected.

Uniform

The team jersey colors are black and red. Under Armour is the current supplier of Evessa's uniforms. The current uniform sponsors are: *Human Holdings Corporation (chest) *Abilit Corporation (back) *Life Creations Corporation (shorts)

Coaches

Kensaku Tennichi is the Head coach of the Osaka Evessa in the Japanese B.League. Head coaching record , - , style="text-align:left;", Matsushita Kangaroos , style="text-align:left;", 2003 , 28, , 14, , 14, , , , 4th , , , 2, , 0, , 2, , , 4th in JBL ...

* Ryan Blackwell (2010–12) *

Zoran Krečković Zoran Krečković ( sr-cyr, Зоран Кречковић, born April 17, 1959) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. Coaching career Krečković began his coaching career in 1996 with IMT Beopetrol in Belgrade. In Feb ...

(2012) * Takao Furuya（2012） *

Bill Cartwright James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the N ...

(2013) *

Shunsuke Todo is the head coach of the Earth Friends Tokyo Z in the Japanese B.League. Head coaching record , - , style="text-align:left;", Osaka Evessa , style="text-align:left;", 2013-14 , 52, , 24, , 28, , , , style="text-align:center;", 6th in Bj W ...

Dai Oketani is the Head coach of the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the Japanese B.League. Head coaching record , - , style="text-align:left;", Oita Heat Devils , style="text-align:left;", 2006 , 24, , 11, , 13, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in bj, ...

* Kensuke Hosaka *

Roster

Notable players

Koei Kotsu Bus Blue Liner Osaka Evessa Advertise Aero Ace

References

External links

Official team web site
*
bt dance team web site

Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium web site

Basketball teams in Japan Sports teams in Osaka 2004 establishments in Japan Basketball teams established in 2004 {{Asia-basketball-team-stub