Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team is on a nine-day trip to Europe. They will check in with Division III basketball fans from time to time. Wade Weldon is our correspondent.
Bon Giorno from Rome! Then Oglethorpe men’s basketball departed to Rome at 7:10 am on Friday. Before our departure we played our final game in France against a local semi-pro team. We opened up with a 12-0 lead and their coach called a time out within the first three minutes of the game in attempt to dwindle our fire. We continued to move the ball as a team and cruised to a 94-69 victory. We hit 14 three’s and continued our undefeated streak on foreign soil.
After the victory, we had a quick three hour nap before heading to the airport for our 7:10 a.m. flight to Rome. We landed in Rome half asleep, and hit the ground running with a three hour bus tour of the city. Luckily, we had free time after the tour and caught about a three hour nap before our final game in Rome on Friday night.
Once again, we opened up hot despite the tired legs. We started the game with a 10-0 lead and finished with a 102-76 victory. The speed of our offense and our zone press was hard for the local team to adjust to. The 24 second shot clock caused our opponent to panic and turn the ball over. After the victory, the Italian fans and kids were very excited to meet us and we exchanged our jerseys and other paraphernalia with their home team. After a short bus ride back to our hotel, the Petrels celebrated our 3-0 winning streak with a four-course, local, Italian meal.
Today we woke up after a rejuvenating 8 hours of sleep and took the metro to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It was amazing to see the ancient Roman architecture and wonder how it would be to compete as a gladiator in the Colosseum. After touring the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum and walked around and took great pictures of the city skyline.
You always hear about the pick-pockets in the Roman metro and today we experienced it first hand. One of our chaperons had 40 euros taken out of his fanny pack by a team of local thieves including a baby as a decoy. From now on, we will keep a closer eye on our belongings and watch out for gypsies trying to make a living off American tourists.
Today we dined at a local pizzeria near our hotel. The team enjoyed fresh mozzarella, mussels from Naples, and authentic Italian pizza. Tomorrow, we are taking a day trip to explore the beautiful city of Florence. I will update you the next time I find an internet cafe. Ciao.