Six-time national basketball champions Isuzu GigaCats will disband at the end of the current league season in March as part of the parent company's restructuring plans, Isuzu Motors Ltd. officials said Wednesday.
The GigaCats, led by Japan international guard Kenichi Sako, won six corporate league titles, including four straight, in the late 1990s. It is challenging for the title again this season.
The GigaCats are the second team this season to withdraw from the league after national championship runnerup Bosch Blue Winds. Niigata and OSG Phoenix from Aichi Prefecture will join the league as it retains its eight-club format next year.
Meanwhile, Isuzu also said its baseball team, which was formed in 1946 and qualified for the intercity corporate championship tournament 13 times, would disband at the end of October.