Pakuranga College director of Sport Clive Daniels and coach Josiah Maama headed off to Los Angeles recently with 13 premier basketball players from the College.
They played a total of five matches against US school teams, four in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco. The experience of playing basketball in the US against local US school teams was the highlight of the boys’ playing careers.
The team were fortunate to also watch three NCAA matches at Staples Centre in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
They followed this with an NBA match between the LA Clippers and the Washington Wizards which went down to the wire with the Clippers dropping a three pointer in the dying seconds to win by one point.
The Pakuranga College students were also able to do some sightseeing, including a trip to Universal Studios Theme Park and Alcatraz Island.
This was the college’s first venture to the US and one of the objectives was to give the young men the opportunity to experience the sport they love and to be immersed in the American culture that is basketball.
It gave the college staff and students alike, the opportunity to build connections and contacts for future ventures. The players were also able to develop their skills by playing against some talented and competitive teams.
