sentences:  Iwakuma was inspired to become a pitcher after "looking up to" former Seibu Lions great Hisanobu Watanabe, who was known for his big-game pitching.While he never made it to a national tournament during his high school career, he led his team to the semi-finals of the West Tokyo Tournament as a senior in the summer of .The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes picked him in the fifth round of the 1999 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) amateur draft.