Hello again :)
Just a quick game recap and update from Mali. Yesterday we spent some quality team time and had some great discussions among us. We have really been growing a lot in our spiritual lives and learning a lot about how to handle ourselves and communicate with others. Yesterday some of us went back to spend some time helping at the orphanage, while some others went to check out the local market. At the orphanage, Ian was holding such a beautiful healthy looking little baby, while other little babies just look and sound like they are struggling so much. One of our little 6 year old friends at the orphanage had casts on each of his legs when we first met him; he had a double surgery to fix some serious leg ailments. Apparently, a person with such a handicap is considered cursed in this culture, according to the orphanage staff. His casts came off while we were at the orphanage yesterday, and despite some serious noticeable pain, he managed to flash some of us a big smile.
Then last night we had our rematch against Senegal. It was a very physical game, and high in emotions, but the guys did a very good job holding their cool. The crowd at the games gets totally into our dunks and all that with whistles and banging the bleachers and jumping around. Pretty neat. We ended up winning the game 73 to 62 and here is some responses and game stats:
"This was our toughest game thus far. Jared and Julian did a great job leading the way with strong inside presence. Also, Danero, Jake, and Shane did well scoring on the perimeter for us." -Coach Gore
"I'm learning so much about the more mental and spiritual side of the game here and this will definitely help me and the rest of us in our upcoming seasons." -Shane Dansby
Jake Diebler- 12 pts, 4 rebs
Jesse Sanders- 3 pts, 2 rebs
Shane Dansby- 13 pts, 2 rebs
Danero Thomas- 12 pts, 1 reb
Ian O'Leary- 3 rebs
Ramon Harris- 5 pts, 2 rebs
Urule Igbavboa- 3 pts, 8 rebs
Jay Watkins- 4 pts, 5 rebs
Julian Gamble- 8 pts, 12 rebs
Jared Carter- 13 pts, 13 rebs
We will talk to you again tonight and have a blessed day!
AIA Basketball Mali