Nagasaki Velca

The Nagasaki Velca (長崎ヴェルカ, ながさきヴェルカ, Nagasaki Veruka) is a Japanese professional basketball team based in Nagasaki Prefecture that competes in the first division of the B.League.

Nagasaki Velca
Conference	West
Division	Second
Leagues	B1 League
Founded	2020; 5 years ago (2020)
History	Nagasaki Velca (2020–present)
Arena	HAPPINESS ARENA
Capacity	6,000
Location	Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture
Team colors	Prussian blue, white and dark yellow
Main sponsor	Nishikawa
CEO	Hideki Iwashita
President	Hideki Iwashita
Team manager	Takuma Ito
Head coach	Mody Maor
Ownership	Japanet
Website	www.velca.jp
Home Away

Franchise history

Foundation

In 2020, Japanet announced the creation of Nagasaki Prefecture's first professional basketball club.^[1] The club was formally launched on July 10, and will compete in B3 or the third division of the B.League beginning the 2021–22 season.^[2][3] The company Nagasaki Velca Co., Ltd. (株式会社長崎ヴェルカ) was established with Hideki Iwashita (岩下 英樹) as the president and CEO, and Akito Takata (髙田 旭人) 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, Nagasaki Prefecture.^[1]

On January 26, 2021, the team announced that Takumi Ito will serve as the head coach and general manager.^[4][5]

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: Nagasaki Jabuzz (長崎ジャブズ), Nagasaki Haretto (長崎ハレット) and Nagasaki Velca (長崎ヴェルカ).^[3][6][7] To select the team name, online voting was done and voting events were also held in different parts of the Nagasaki Prefecture.^[3][7] On October 30, the club name Nagasaki Velca was unveiled.^[6][8] "Velca" is derived from the words "welcome," "well community" and "victory."^[1][3][6][8]

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 B.League.^[9][10][11] On May 17, 2022, the team announced that Takumi Ito will continue to serve as the general manager^[12] and Kenjiro Maeda, who was the team's associate head coach, will take over as the head coach beginning the 2022–23 season.^[13] On May 29, B.League announced that Nagasaki will compete in the West conference of B2.^[14]

Uniform

Jersey sponsors

On April 29, 2021, the team announced that Nishikawa is the jersey sponsor beginning the 2021–22 season.^[15]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Nagasaki Velca roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age G 1 Kenji Leon Matsumoto 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 31 – (1994-05-30)30 May 1994 G 2 Koya Kobari 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) 26 – (1999-05-18)18 May 1999 F 3 Min Kug Chang 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 36 – (1989-07-05)5 July 1989 G 4 Masaya Karimata 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 36 – (1988-12-28)28 December 1988 F 5 Matt Bonds 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 29 – (1995-11-06)6 November 1995 F 7 Jarrell Brantley 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 29 – (1996-06-07)7 June 1996 F 9 Masaaki Morikawa 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 33 – (1992-03-07)7 March 1992 F 11 Hirohide Araya 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 26 – (1998-12-05)5 December 1998 G 14 Kanji Takahira (C) 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 31 – (1993-09-14)14 September 1993 F/C 15 A. J. Edu 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 25 – (2000-01-01)1 January 2000 G/F 18 Yudai Baba 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 29 – (1995-11-07)7 November 1995 F 23 Daisuke Noguchi 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 42 – (1983-05-26)26 May 1983 F 33 Nick Perkins 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 28 – (1996-10-15)15 October 1996 G 36 Takuma Enokida 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 27 – (1998-05-24)24 May 1998	Head coach Mody Maor Assistant coach(es) Kenjiro Maeda Makoto Isono Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: March 31, 2023

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

Head coaches

• Takuma Ito: 2021–2022^[4][5]
• Kenjiro Maeda: 2022–2024^[16]
• Mody Maor: 2024–present^[17]

Management

Ownership

Ownership history
Owner	Tenure
Japanet	2020–present[1][18]

General managers

GM history
GM	Tenure
Takuma Ito	2020–present[5][19]

Arenas

• HAPPINESS ARENA

Practice facilities

The team opened a new practice facility, the Velca Clubhouse (ヴェルカクラブハウス), in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture on May 27, 2021.^[20]

Fanbase

The fan club of the team is called Velcas Zero (ヴェルカーズ ゼロ).^[8][21]