The Oita HeatDevils, who joined the bj-league as one of six teams for its inaugural 2005-06 season, have changed their name.
It's now slightly longer.
The club, which has been based in Kyushu since it was established in 2005, is now known as the Oita Ehime HeatDevils, it was announced earlier this week.
The name change reflects the franchise's relocation to Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, where, under new management, its team headquarters are now located.
The HeatDevils will now play home games in both prefectures.
The cash-strapped franchise has had 10 straight losing seasons, coming closest to a winning campaign in the 2006-07 season, when Dai Oketani guided the club to a 21-23 mark.
The HeatDevils have not announced yet who'll replace Yukinori Suzuki as the team's bench boss for the upcoming season.
Suzuki, who played for the club from 2005-11, coached Oita from 2011 until May.
Staying with Osaka: Veteran guard Haruyuki Ishibashi is staying with the Evessa after reaching a basic contractual agreement with the team.
The Kansai club made the announcement on Thursday.
Ishibashi, 41, was the league's oldest player last season. He played sparingly, logging 178 minutes of court time in 35 games. He averaged 0.5 points per game.
Third time with the Rizing: Jun Nakanishi is returning to the Rizing Fukuoka, meaning he's preparing to start his third stint with the franchise.
The 180-cm guard, who turns 33 on July 7, has suited up for the Tokyo Apache (2005-07), Fukuoka (2007-08, 2010-14), Osaka (2008-10) and Iwate BIg Bulls (2014-15).
Nakanishi averaged 5.1 points in 50 games for Iwate last season.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.