A Tokyo-based expansion team will join the bj-league next season, giving the capital city a new franchise after the disappearance of the Tokyo Apache.
The league made the announcement on Friday, two days before its sixth annual All-Star Game, which will be held at Saitama Super Arena, venue for the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championship final.
The Apache last played a game on March 10, 2011. In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Evolution Capital Management, the Apache's parent company, pulled the club out of the league for the remainder of the 2011-12 season and cited financial difficulties for its decision to not field a team this season. And, confirming what's been stated for months by league sources, the Apache filed the necessary paperwork to not play during the 2012-13 campaign, EVO spokesman Richard Chisholm told The Japan Times earlier this week.