Week 2

Wow, time really flies by. I have struggled to find time to write, but sitting here thinking about all the things that have happened since last posting I am not surprised.

I have now been in Taipei for two and a half weeks. The first week was a constant battle of adjusting to the differences (time, language and food) of the culture, getting over the jet lag and getting situated on the basketball court with my team and my own play.

I mentioned in the first post that we went 2-2 in the first week, but did not go into much detail about the league or games. The game is heavily centered on the transition from defense to offense and vice versa. A large majority of the points scored or prevented come in this transition. The teams love to push the ball and to get a quick shot. The game is played using the International rules as they pertain to basketball, and the major differences from college basketball are a 24-second shot clock, 8-second back court clock and the ball can be played on the rim. Two differences I am experiencing since I took the floor in Australia are that the 3-point line is another foot further back (21’9”) but it squares off on the sidelines as there is not enough room and that the lane is extended a foot wider on each side producing a larger rectangle, identical to the NBA lane, rather than the trapezoid lane commonly used. Do these make a big difference? Not really, the objective of putting the ball in the hole remains the same!

In the first week we lost to KKL by three points. This was the game I played immediately after arriving. I finished with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Although I contributed to the team’s play, I think I may have also been a bit of a distraction to the guys as we did not run their normal sets and they were trying to figure out how to play with me, like I was trying to figure out how to play with them.

We rebounded on Wednesday with an 88-74 win against Yulon, the defending champions. I did not play spectacular, but filled out the stat line with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. In the game I was constantly double-teamed and had trouble getting open looks at the basket. I also was taken out of much of the game due to an injury to my face. I took my second elbow to the cheek this year that busted me open nicely. The first required six stitches while this one required a couple steri-strips and tape. The nice thing is that the scars will be symmetrical.

Our next game was scheduled for Saturday against Taiwan Mobile. I think the jet lag and all the basketball had caught up with me. I played limited minutes due to foul trouble and embarrassingly put up 3 points and 3 rebounds. This is far below what they expect of me, but luckily I played very well defensively and neutralized their import. We escaped with an 80-76 win. We followed up on Sunday in a losing effort to the Dancin’ Tigers 76-64. I put up decent numbers, but the one that was most important – a win – evaded me. I finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

This past week we only had two games as the New Year was approaching. I say New Year in reference to the Chinese New Year. It is the year of the Rabbit- this will be referenced below. We played the top team in the league, Taiwan Beer, on Wednesday. Taiwan Beer was 11-1 at the time. We started strong and played them tough to the end. I personally had my best game to date. Entering the game I felt like I had my legs and was ready to play. We took a 5 point lead into the break, but played from behind the majority of the second half. In the end it was not our game to win. We shot 9 FTs as a team compared to their 27 attempts and committed 22 fouls compared to their 12. Some might say that the little Bank team was not going to win that game from the start. We lost 94-90 and I produced 28 points on 13-16 shooting and contributed 14 rebounds. I also put my second opponent in the hospital. The first player was taken off after a pick set at half court that he had no idea was coming and the second was taken out when I went for a layup and he came to block it but ended up bouncing off me and landing on the ground. As a result, I was at the free throw line to try and convert the three point play. This can be found at the 1 hour mark on the video.

Video footage can be found at:www.vimeo.com/19307308

Saturday we finished the round by playing the second ranked Pure Youth Construction. We came out playing hard and playing well. We lead the entire game and finished ahead 91-83. I contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds. At this point in the season we are sitting in 5th place at 5-8, (3-3 since I joined)

Now that the basketball is all up to date, I’ll let you in on life in Taiwan. I live above one of the bank branches with the entire team. The bank has the top 4 floors as apartments and our team occupies one of the floors. I live with 2 other players and we each have our own rooms, share a common area and 2 bathrooms. Our practice facility is located above a different branch of the bank about 10 minutes from our apartment. The 5th floor has a gym, weight area and showers.

Taipei has a great subway system that allows us to get to any part of the city relatively easily. If the subway is not your thing, a cab can get you around to most places for less than $6. Personally, I prefer using my driver. I have an individual that takes me to and from all team activities. His name is 200. He has that name because he stands 200 cm tall. He is a teammate of mine, and I ride on the back of his moped. Mopeds are the most popular form of transportation around town and it is always eventful as they weave in and out of traffic.

This is the street outside my residence in Zhengzhong

The food has been a bit different as traditional Chinese or Taiwanese food is nothing like what we eat in the US. The food is quite bland and rice, noodles, dumplings and soup are the most common. I always ask for things to be “la” or spicy/hot. La is also used to describe “hot” women. It is a pretty funny direct translation. The guys asked me if I like “spicy girls.” I was like, Gloria Beckham or Geri Halliwell? They were like, “no, hot girls.” I laughed.

Monday night, to kick off the New Year Holiday, our team had a formal dinner with the bank executives. The Chinese New Year is very similar to our Christmas-New Years week. The players all return home to be with their families and to celebrate the upcoming year. The first day is spent with the Father’s side of the family and two days later everyone gathers with the Mother’s side of the family. I thought this was a nice way to avoid marital conflict back home. There is no arguing about whose family you would be spending the holidays with. It’s all set in tradition.

The dinner included a bottle of whiskey at each table and an assortment of foods. We were served lamb, crab, fish, ribs, beef fillets and pig intestines. Yes, you read that correctly. I gave it a try, a very little try, and my reaction was that it tasted exactly like what the intestines produce.

The drinking culture is much different than at home. You do not drink by yourself, and by that I mean you do not sip your drink without acknowledging someone else and raising your glass to them before you both take a drink. This has its advantage as no one is drinking excessively by themselves, but may result in many drinking to excess. At least no one is drinking alone!

Last night I went to the Playboy Mansion of Taipei, or at least that is what I initially thought. Jason and I met up with a friend from Taipei and we went to club with her group of friends. Walking into the club we saw all the women wearing rabbit ears. I was wondering where they had taken us, but later was informed that it was the year of the Rabbit and that was why everyone had them on. I may or may not have been a bit disappointed to learn this.

I have had this week off and have enjoyed sleeping in and letting my body recover. Just as I thought I was getting over the jet lag last week, I came down with a flu like cold before the game on Saturday. I still played, but was a bit average. The paper had reported that I was ill during the game with flu-like symptoms, but the English translation Google provided showed the paper as citing that I had “cold diarrhea.” Interesting, I know.

Just like my second run in with busting my cheek open, I had my second run in with an earthquake. I was taking a nap yesterday afternoon and all of a sudden my bed started moving and I looked around to see the curtains swaying. Turns out we had a minor earthquake – nothing uncommon over here. No damage anywhere and nothing more exciting to report.

We continue games next week, and I am excited to say that my parents will be arriving to watch 5 games over a 10 day stretch. It will be great having them here, but I don’t think they have anticipated what they are actually in for!

Until next week, God Bless!

Video footage can be found at:www.vimeo.com/19307308