A total of 11 Japanese players on the Tsukuba Robots have been placed on the NBL¡¯s free agency list after they didn¡¯t sign new contracts with the Eastern Conference club¡¯s new management company, the league announced on Monday.

Among the 11 are Yusuke Okada, Japan men¡¯s national team guard/forward, and inside player Takuya Sato, a former rookie of the year in the JBL, the NBL¡¯s predecessor.

According to a news release issued by the league, the players did not reach agreement to sign with the new management company by the end of November.

The players were asked to accept pay cuts by new management, a source told The Japan Times.

A couple of Japanese players, Kazuyuki Nakagawa and Daisuke Umetsu, however, will remain with the club.

The Robots have a league-worst 0-16 record. They are scheduled to play host to the Chiba Jets on Saturday and Sunday in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Okada serves as the president of the Japan Basketball Players Association. The 30-year-old, who played at an Ibaraki Prefecture high school, moved to the team from the Toyota Alvark over the summer.

As for the fate of the team¡¯s import players, Lamar Sanders and Justin Reynolds, it is unclear whether they will stay with the Robots.

Meanwhile, Donte¡¯ Hill, Robots head coach, wasn¡¯t on the bench for the two-game series against Toyota this past weekend due to internal issues on the club. Hill¡¯s assistant, Keita Iwashita, 26, worked as the interim sideline supervisor. Hill¡¯s situation for the future looks uncertain, too.

The league temporarily took over management of the cash-strapped in late October. Now, this new management company has been formed to replace the NBL¡¯s supervision of the club.

Former Link Tochigi Brex president Takashi Yamaya, who resigned as the NBL¡¯s chief operating officer to take responsibility for the Robots¡¯ managerial change in October, will lead the club as its new president.

The league stated that the new management company will be screened within the next 10 days or so.