Hong Kong basketball team visits Prince George for first time

The TDBA team has been in Prince George for several days, and for most players it was their first time in Canada. The chance to see a new country, enjoy the culture, and also play against different competition was certainly appreciated by the Hong Kong players.

“It’s a great experience for me and also my team. We get to see some new faces, new opponents, which are much better, stronger and more physical. And I think it’s like a great chance to improve our game as well,” said TDBA player James Koo.

“Canada, is a great country, and I hope to maybe study university here as well,” he continued.

The collaboration between TDBA and Northern Bounce was made possible thanks to Nathan Yu’s Prince George roots, as he was raised here. His brother, Jordan Yu, started Northern Bounce, so the familial connections between the two organizations also helped make this international exhibition game a reality.

“I played professionally in Hong Kong for the last nine years, and I started my academy there. I have a good family base in Prince George, and my brother Jordan started Northern Bounce here and we’ve always discussed having a partnership and doing some international games,” Yu explained.

While the basketball benefits are certainly great, as TDBA had the chance to play against a larger, more physical team than they’re used to, Yu added the cultural significance of the trip has been a fantastic experience for the players as well.

“My kids live in a city of 7 million people. There’s not a lot of trees, not a lot of grass there, so I think it’s been a great experience for them just to see nature. Even driving to practice, driving to a lake on the weekend, we saw deer, and that really opened up their eyes,” Yu said.

As for the hosting team, Northern Bounce enjoyed the opportunity to host the game and enjoyed this rare opportunity.

“Seeing other cultures, seeing how they play the game of basketball and the levels and how they play basketball compared to how we play basketball, it’s really impressive how they run it,” said Northern Bounce player Neil Henderson.

“We can compare it to ours (play style), like over there, I feel like they’re definitely more skilled as guards but I feel like they don’t have size, but guards wise, I think they’re really good,” added teammate Jeona Gill.

Plans are already being made for Prince George to travel to Hong Kong next summer, and Northern Bounce’s U16 Black Team Head Coach Dave Fuller says he’s looking forward to continuing to build this international relationship and continue having his team face off against different styles of basketball.

“Maybe some of these (TDBA) boys come to the university here now that they’ve seen Prince George. Maybe some of our guys will go to Asia, meet up, and who knows where those relationships go. That’s the benefit of having some of these events where we bring people from outside our community into the north to experience it,” Fuller said.

Both teams are now preparing to travel to Vancouver for Nationals, where they will compete on opposite ends of the bracket for a chance to be crowned champions.

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by Tommy Osborne

Hong Kong basketball team visits Prince George for first time

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