The Reality of Professional Overseas BasketballWhen the weekend came, Pablo and I went to the basketball tournament. We walked an hour through the hot sun to the gym, bringing our own food so we didn’t have to pay for any at the concession stand. Arriving at the gym, it felt like I was back at home again. I saw the teams warming up, performing the same drills I’d done thousands of times throughout my life. In the stands were a few hundred people.
Atenas was playing, the most popular team in Cordoba and one of the best in the country. It was easy to see who the Americans were. There were three of them on the team and they were much bigger than the Argentinian guys. As the game started, I understood why Donald wanted me to come to this tournament. The style of play was different; scrappy, physical, and tough. Players did things that looked like fouls but the refs didn’t call them. On one play, a guy wrapped his arms completely around the opposing player, but the game continued. On another, gentle pushes to throw a player off balance would be called a foul in America, but here they played on. This was the reality of professional overseas basketball. |
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