Niigata Albirex BB coach Masaya Hirose has received a one-year contract extension for next season, the bj-league announced Tuesday.
Hirose, who has coached the team since 2000, when it played in the JBL Super League, has guided it to back-to-back bj-league playoff appearances, including a runnerup spot to Osaka Evessa in 2006. Hirose, a native of Ibaraki Prefecture, turned 40 last Friday.
He was named the JBL Super League coach of the year in 2001 and served as an assistant coach for Japan's World University Games squad in 2001 and '03.