Being away from home at Christmas is complicated, but Sebas Saiz (Madrid, 1994) has no other choice either. “I’m passing him to Nagoya, because we have a game on Christmas Eve (he scored 35 points). Then go back to the hotel and talk to my family on the phone. At … The next day, we return to Tokyo,” says the basketball player, European champion in 2022 with Spain, who is finishing his seventh season in Japan, a country where Christmas can be shocking.
“It’s not celebrated here because they’re not Christian, it’s just another day, but they have a very curious tradition, and that is that on the 24th they go to KFC and have a platter of fried chicken with their partners. This is all because years ago they ran an advertising campaign at KFC just for Christmas. It went so well that they still do it today. They even book in advance, because it’s impossible to find a place,” says Saiz.
In the New Year, things change: “It’s more familiar, on this evening they go to the temple and clean the house to get rid of evil spirits and have a new look.” Regardless, the league doesn’t stop and only delays the day for a few days. The show must go on.
“I signed a contract at Madrid where I was going to be loaned for two years and then Felipe was going to retire, but he didn’t retire and I found myself without a place.”
Saiz speaks like an expert because today he knows almost every detail of Japanese culture, and he owes this in part to Felipe Reyes: “I signed a contract in Madrid where I was going to be loaned for two years and then Felipe was going to retire, but he didn’t retire and I found myself without a place. “I decided to broaden my horizons and I liked Asia to try to earn some money.”
Thanks to this carom, he became one of the few Spanish players to play in the Japanese league. Today, he is already a basketball legend in the country, someone recognized who appears both in the lists of the best scorers and rebounders of the championship and in the most exclusive fashion parties in Japan.
“I’m a famous person, I don’t know if I would say famous, people here are very respectful and they treat you with a lot of respect, no one harasses you. It’s a beautiful life, even if it’s complicated, because you don’t have your loved ones, but because they are so structured, you can develop your life without problems,” explains Sebas.
Images of the Japanese adventure of champion Sebastián Saiz
There are thousands of miles to his hometown and a cultural chasm between the two. “For example, bureaucracy, or even going to the bank, it’s a whole world. Perhaps what I miss the most, beyond the people, is knowing what is around me, because here we live without knowing what half of the things are because of the language,” says the Alvark Tokyo player with humor.
Because no, during all this time, he has not managed to master such a complicated language. “It’s very difficult, I know how to say basic things and I learn things, but I don’t know how to speak them. And it’s funny, because when players came from outside and played for years without speaking Spanish, I asked myself “but how come they don’t already know how to speak it?” Now I’m one of those players who’s been out for seven years and doesn’t speak the language,” he says with a laugh.
“When foreign players were playing for years without speaking Spanish, I asked myself ‘but how come they don’t already know how to speak it?’ “Now I’m one of those players who’s been out for seven years and doesn’t speak the language,”
This does not prevent him from having established a good network of contacts and friendships to travel to some of the most exclusive events in the city: “They are contacts, like everywhere. Fashion has always been present in my family, because my parents were models and here in Tokyo, which is one of the capitals of fashion and culture, I also met people from this world. I have always loved playing music and one thing led to another, if I have free time I enjoy playing music at fun events. On his Instagram, he can be seen at parties for major brands such as Fendi or Cartier.
In his everyday life, he is one of the stars of a championship where there is a good level and a lot of sporting culture. “It’s a good league, even if you have to know what you’re comparing it to. In Spain, there are almost no national players, it is full of high-level foreigners; Here there are only three per team and that makes the Japanese public appreciate it, the halls are full, there is a spectacular fan base because they go to see the teams and players from their city,” he says.
In the future, he plans to return to live in Spain, although he will probably move around a lot, as he has done during his career. Before thinking about retirement, yes, find a destination. Its particular history in Japan has an expiration date.
“This will be my last year playing here, because from next season there will be a salary limit and all teams will reduce their budget.”
“This will be my last year playing here, because from next season there will be a salary limit and all teams will reduce their budget. What brought me to Japan will no longer be there. I don’t know where, if he will return to Spain or if he will go to other countries, to powerful or complicated leagues, but the change is assured.
Sebas Saiz will go elsewhere with the music, but wherever he is, when he sees a KFC, a Christmas memory will come to his mind. And many can’t say the same either.
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