Kei Igarashi is an Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He plays for the Toyota Alvark

Toyota Alvark

Toyota Alvark is a Japanese professional basketball team sponsored by Toyota. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. The team currently plays in the JBL Super League and has won the last two league titles in 2006 and 2007.-Roster 2009-10:...

 of the JBL Super League.
Takeuchi also is a member of the Japan national basketball team

Japan national basketball team

The Japanese national basketball team represents Japan in international basketball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Basketball Association . Japan is the second leading nation in qualifications to the Asian Basketball Championships...

, playing for the team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship

2006 FIBA World Championship

The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...

 and both the FIBA Asia Championship 2007

FIBA Asia Championship 2007

The 2007 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. The tournament was held in Tokushima, Japan from July 28 to August 5, 2007....

 and FIBA Asia Championship 2009

FIBA Asia Championship 2009

The 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the biennial Asian continental championship and also served as the FIBA Asia qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from August 6 to 16, 2009 in Tianjin, China....

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Igarashi averaged 9 points and 3 assists per game for the host Japanese at the 2006 FIBA World Championship

2006 FIBA World Championship

The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...

. Igarashi scored a team-high 18 points and added three assists in Japan's lone win at the tournament, a 78-61 preliminary round victory over Panama. In his most recent, national team appearance, Igarashi had a team-leading 3.6 assists per game, good for third best overall in the tournament. Despite his performance, Japan stumbled to a disappointing tenth place finish, its worst ever performance in 24 FIBA Asia Championship

FIBA Asia Championship

The FIBA Asia Championship for Men is a tournament which takes place every two years between teams of the continent. This is the Asian qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championship and the Olympic basketball tournament...

 appearances.

Igarashi currently plays professionally with the Toyota Alvark

Toyota Alvark

Toyota Alvark is a Japanese professional basketball team sponsored by Toyota. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. The team currently plays in the JBL Super League and has won the last two league titles in 2006 and 2007.-Roster 2009-10:...

 of the JBL Super League. In the current 2009-10 season, Takeuchi entered the month-long winter break averaging 9.3 points and 2.9 assists per game for the Alvark. The popular Igarashi was also named to the JBL All-Star Game as the leading point guard vote-getter for the East.