Tuesday, August 13, 2013

2013 Davidson Men's Basketball European Tour -- Daily Player Journals


Journal Entry #1 – Tuesday, August 13, 2013
By Senior Tom Droney

On Sunday, we boarded the plane en route to Venice, Italy. The flight was long and tiring, but the vast movie selection helped pass the time. We arrived in Italy around 9 am their time, 3 am ET. From there, we bussed about 3 hours to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We are staying at the beautiful Grand Union Hotel.

We walked around for a bit and got something to eat right when we got here. A large canal that runs right through the center of the town divides the city. The city has an abundance of designer stores, restaurants, pubs, gelato stands, and street vendors. The buildings are old, colorful, and beautiful. The city is very clean, and well kept. The roads are wide, and mostly cobblestone. There are no real driving lanes or parking spots, so watching people freelance is rather interesting and amusing.

Today, we had our first game against a professional team from right outside the city. They were very big and skilled. We had the lead at halftime, but they made a number of shots in the second half and started to pull away. We battled and were able to cut the lead to three with about seconds seconds left. Jack Gibbs stole the inbounds pass and a shot a tough desperation three that would have tied it, but unfortunately it didn't fall.

I was very impressed by our resiliency and toughness. We had a number of calls that didn't go our way, but we never stopped competing, and we almost beat a very good team on their home floor.

So far, this trip has been a great experience, and has allowed our team to bond and build team chemistry. Although we will be a much different team than last year, I am very excited and intrigued about how quickly and how well the new guys are understanding how to play Davidson Basketball.

After two or three more games here in Slovenia, we will be heading to Italy to play a few games there. We are visiting a huge castle (pictured) on Thursday that sits atop a mountain in downtown Ljubljana.

On Friday, we will head to a beach about two hours away. We are all very blessed to have this opportunity, and we are excited to get back in the gym tomorrow.

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