Friday - Men & Women Compete

The girls start their competition today and the boys continue in pool play.  It is HOT (in the 90s) for these outside games.  Games are played to 21 or for 10 minutes, whichever comes first.

Girls prepping for their first game today.

Both teams watching their competition.

Tired!

The women began the competition today with 3 WINS!
   USA 21 - Guam 3
   USA 21 - Puerto Rico 3
   USA 19 - China 16

Bri, Arika, Don, Gabby and Katie Lou

The men played 2 more games in the 2nd day of pool play.
2 WINS!
  USA 21 - Czech Republic 3
   USA 21 - Guatemala 1

Dom,  Demonte, Cliff and Larry

Both teams will finish up pool play and begin quarterfinals Saturday.

GO TEAM USA!

Thursday - Competition Begins for Men

Game Day!

Breakfast at the hotel

Usual view on the bus ride to the venue.

The National Monument
venue for the games

The boys practiced game morning at the venue and the girls practiced later at the hotel outside hoop.

Study Table Time each day!
The lobby had (????) internet

Game Time

The men played 3 games in their pool today:

  5:00 USA 21 - Andora 6

  6:40 USA 21 - China 9

  8:00 USA 21 - Bulgaria 9

3 games - 3 WINS!

Wednesday - Practice Day

After a good night's sleep Wednesday was a day for practice and trying to get adjusted to the 12 hour difference.  The men scrimmaged New Zealand at 9:00 so we had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then were bused to an indoor gym.

Larry and Cliff at practice

Cindy taping Dom for practice

The New Zealand team presenting their ritual

Our "box lunch" at the hotel.

View from our hotel - shanties of squatters with goats, a cow and ducks

Laundry on the lines everyday.

Yes, we are all TIRED from the trip.

Don and Travis with the boys at the evening meeting of all the boys' teams

The Trip

We all started from our home airports Monday morning and met in San Francisco.  Don and I had a 5 am flight from Cedar Rapids to Chicago and then to San Francisco.  The 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Seoul South Korea was a long one and then another 7 hour flight from Seoul to Jakarta.  We also "lost" 12 hours during these flights.  In Jakarta we are 12 hours ahead of central standard time back home in Iowa.

Arrival at the Jakarta, Indonesia airpot

Bus to the hotel

At the hotel

Larry, Dom and Cliff at the hotel

2013 to Jakarta, Indonesia

Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the thirteenth most populated city in the world. 

Java (Indonesian: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million (excluding the 3.6 million on the island of Madura which is administered as part of the provinces of Java), Java is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely-populated places in the world. Java is the home of 60 percent of the Indonesian population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 40s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally.

Formed mostly as the result of volcanic eruptions, Java is the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in Indonesia. A chain of volcanic mountains forms an east-west spine along the island. It has three main languages, though Javanese is dominant, and it is the native language of about 60 million people in Indonesia, most of whom live on Java. Most of its residents are bilingual, with Indonesian as their first or second languages. While the majority of the people of Java are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures.

Great Job! Success in 2012!

Monday morning it was time to say good-bye.  Don and I are staying in Madrid for an extra few days so we got up in time to say farewell to everyone with an 8:30 bus pick up for the airport.

Final Game Day

Games were played outside today as intended for the tournament.  It was a fun atmosphere.

Game 8:  USA 21 - Estonia 18

Dunk Contest:  Rondee Jefferson

Game 9:  USA 17 - Canada 13

Coach Showalter with a baguette between games.

On to the FINAL GAME!

Game 10:  USA 20 - Serbia 21 OT

On the Medal Stand!  

Women - World Champions!

Men - 2nd in the World!

Time to Celebrate
Travis took the players to TGI Fridays to eat and then to the "party" put on by FIBA.  The rest of us went back to "The Knife" for a huge meat platter dinner.

Grilled meats (lots of it!) and vegetables

Coach Show, me, Trainer Cindy, Coach Carey

The grill at the restaurant