Day 2 - Going to the Universtiy and then the School of Hard Knocks

Today was a great day for the team.
Everyone was showered and rested and ready to face our toughest challenge yet - the National University of Manila. This is the largest college in Manila and it boasted two Cameroon internationals who made life hard for our big men Fletcher Creelman and american Joshua Manthe.

The match was a tough encounter with Fletcher dominating on the scoreboard against his opposition and our Filipino import Rufo Pong running the point for us. The University team prevailed in the dying stages 78-67 and we realised we have some work to do before playing some harder games tomorrow. Fletcher shared his testimony well and the players were responsive to what he had to say.

After a short lunch break we headed out to our second game in the Manila suburb of Francisville. It was very much the small, street game with about 50 people coming out to support a team that knew their court (potholes and all!) and shot well. Conan Prince worked hard early on and Steve "Nash" Cressie got our Spirit team off to a great start. At half time Conan shared his testimony and the local pastor spoke to the local crowd and players before the arrival of Andrew Stock by motorcycle to the cheers of the local crowd!

The second half was a much closer affair with Danny Cook dominating the game for the Spirit team and Andrew Stock making some steadying baskets late in the game. The match concluded with an 84-84 scoreline to the cheers of the crowd and then in overtime the Sports Ambassadors prevailed 87-90 thanks to Mike Valenti's solid defensive efforts. Fletcher, resting his knee from a tough morning, enjoying calling the game from the courtside and given the NBA-savvy locals some funny nicknames. His experience in the Australian outback is translating well to the Filipino culture!

It was a great spectacle for the local crowd who witnessed some dunks and no-look passes and some fine basketball by both sides. Tomorrow sees us begin the day at 6am as we travel to play a semi-professional team who will be tough opposition. With Andrew Stock in the team and big Joshua Manthe in the team we have some solid players to complement the skills of super-fast Hedley Taylor and super-strong Conan Prince and super-funny Steve Cressie.

Thank you for your prayers and support as we face our toughest challenge tomorrow morning. The people at the KIM orphanage we have been staying at have been fantastic, as expected, and they all ask when Greg will be getting here to begin the tour!

Such is the legacy of the 10-tour veteran and his brother Paul – no one is taking us seriously without them around!