The approaching typhoon doesn’t seem to worry Gordon Herbert very much. When the national basketball coach in Okinawa was asked about the impending disaster, he reacted humorously.
“I heard about it. I don’t know if we have anything in our hands. One should come on Friday, hopefully we’ll be the typhoon on Friday evening,” said Herbert, whose team easily moved into the intermediate round after three wins in the preliminary round is. On Friday the first game of the intermediate round to which Herbert was referring will take place.
Typhoon probably no impact on World Cup tournament
For that day, the organizers also warn of the typhoon that is supposed to be heading for the Japanese holiday island. “Storms of this type are common in the region and the local authorities are well prepared for such situations,” said the world association Fiba. The typhoon has not yet had any concrete effects on the World Cup tournament.
The basketball players in Okinawa already have experience with alarm messages. Before the start of the tournament, a shrill warning tone sounded on smartphones at night, with which Japan informed its own population and tourists about North Korea’s failed attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit over southern Japan.
Herbert released his basketball protégé for today. Germany had recently completed three World Cup games in five days. A meeting with the local fans was planned for the afternoon in the beautiful coastal town of Chatan, near the team hotel. After some free time, training should resume on Thursday before the start of the intermediate round.