We are getting settled into our hotel here in Tunliu. The staff has been very friendly and accommodating especially with food. They ask us after meals what we like and have been trying to serve us accordingly.
We had practice yesterday at the gym, they were getting everything set up so there were a few minor distractions. Music would randomly start playing, the lights went off for a 20 minute stretch and we may have all gotten high off the fumes from new signs and posters. For those of us who have played internationally for a few years none of these things were all that uncommon.
The game tonight went great in the first half and then our defence was horrible in the second half. Maybe it was the 10-minute half time or the smokers lounge atmosphere the gym turned into. Okay we actually have no good excuses. We held them to 25 points in the first half and they scored in the 70's for the game. Can't remember the exact final score but we lost by about 15. It was a pretty disappointing game in the sense that we are a great defensive team. it is our bread and butter, so to give up unchallenged shots and be late on rotations is inexcusable. On the positive side we did manage to pull down 15 offensive rebounds. This is a huge team... they have 6'8" and numerous 6'5" girls. All of their wings are at least 6'0" quite a difference from Japan.
While we are disappointed in our performance this is a good time for us to have weakness exploited. We hit the road again tomorrow breakfast is at 6am and then we are flying into Bejing. Upon arrival in Bejing we will bus a few hours to a site somewhere. There is a rumor that we may be able to stop and see the Great Wall so fingers crossed for that.
Thanks SO much for these updates....it's the only way we can keep informed of your progress.
ReplyDeleteKim, thanks for the updates. Even in last years blog, I felt embarrassed about the travel arrangments that the team is required to undertake (wearing all your clothes to make the one bag limit, etc.) Is this one of the parts of being on the national team that need to continue to improve to retain our best players? I know that former players like to talk about travel stories, and that putting up with it is a badge of honour, but I want our players to be able to concentrate on grabbing rebounds instead of grabbing their bags. You all know players on other National teams - do they travel better or differently than our SWNT? Would the Chinese be more comfortable playing/staying in Prince George for example, than we are in Beijing?
ReplyDelete