Tokyo Excellence
| Tokyo Excellence | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leagues | B.League |
| Founded | 2012 |
| History | NBDL (2013–16) |
| Arena | Itabashi Azusawa Gymnasium |
| Location | Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan |
| Head coach | Masaki Hayamizu |
| Championships | NBDL: 3 (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16) |
| Website | Official website |
Tokyo Excellence is a Japanese professional basketball club that will compete in the third division of Japan's B.League. Prior to the B.League's establishment, the club played in the National Basketball Development League, winning the championship in all three years of the league's existence. The team's home arena is the Itabashi Azusawa Gymnasium in Itabashi, Tokyo. The team also plays some home matches at the Izumi Citizen's Gymnasium in Tama, Tokyo.
The club's roots lie in an amateur club named Excellence formed by Dr. Shuichi Tsuji in 2002. The team unsuccessfully sought entry into the reformed Japan Basketball League (JBL) in 2007 and thereafter continued to compete at the amateur level. During its ten-year history as an amateur club, the Excellence qualified for the All-Japan Club Basketball Championships on four occasions and finished in third place in 2004 and 2011. The team was coached by American Bob Pierce for four years from 2002 until 2005.
In July 2012 Tsuji announced on his blog that he had successfully gained entry for the club into the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), a new league that was to commence in 2013 as a replacement of the second division of the JBL. In the same announcement Tsuji declared the goal was for the Excellence to be promoted to the first division NBL by 2015, which would make the club the first Tokyo-based fully professional club in the top league run by the Japan Basketball Association. At that time, most teams participating in JBA-sanctioned leagues were corporate teams and most players were employed by the parent corporations rather than paid as professional athletes. Tsuji also said that the amateur Excellence team coached by Tsuji would continue to exist under the umbrella of the professional club, which would be named Tokyo Excellence.
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