Cal Poly Men's Basketball in Costa Rica, Aug. - Men's Basketball
WATCH CAL POLY'S SUMMER UPDATE VIDEO CAL POLY PROSPECTUS: VIEWABLE | DOWNLOADABLE MEET THE MUSTANGS: DAVID HANSON | WILL TAYLOR SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – With the first two days of the Cal Poly men’s basketball program’s eight-day tour of Costa Rica in the books, junior guard Drake U’u put his fingers to the keyboard to provide Mustang fans with an update of the trip. After arriving in Costa Rica on Monday, the team visited the Irazu Volcano on Tuesday before facing the Costa Rica Men’s National Team. Despite 12 points from senior center Will Donahue ... After arriving in Costa Rica on Monday, the team visited the Irazu Volcano on Tuesday before facing the Costa Rica Men’s National Team. Despite 12 points from senior center Will Donahue – who was named Cal Poly’s Most Valuable Player for the contest – and eight apiece from senior forward David Hanson and junior guard Dylan Royer, the Mustangs fell against Costa Rica, 72-67. Cal Poly will face Costa Rica again on Wednesday evening. Below is Drake U’u’s account of Cal Poly’s first two days in Costa Rica. “¡Buenos dias Mustang basketball fans! After 10 hard summer practices in San Luis Obispo, we’ve finally arrived in beautiful Costa Rica. The trip has been a phenomenal experience thus far. We landed in San Jose on Monday morning around 9:30 a.m. and have been busy since. “After taking some pictures, we headed back to the bus where we ran into what (head coach) Joe Callero called, “a Costa Rican raccoon (right).” It seemed to be a mix between a raccoon and a monkey. While coach coins many terms, I’m pretty sure this little creature had its own official name. He seemed to be pretty hungry, so I gave him some of my cinnamon roll. We were instantly friends. I could tell he wanted more from me, but I told him that long distance relationships are too difficult and decided to say goodbye and head back onto the bus. I will never forget the little guy. “After eating lunch and getting off of our feet for a few hours, we got on the bus and headed to the gym where we played our first game against the Costa Rica Men’s National Team. The game was a physical battle. Costa Rica was very strong and experienced. We were able to work on many things that we worked on during our practices, but in the end, we lost a close game. While the loss was tough, we learned a lot about the international rules of the game. We expect to return on Wednesday night and improve on our mistakes as we face Costa Rica once again. Like coach says, the best part about basketball is that we don’t have to wait seven days to play again. We look forward to bringing home a big win for Cal Poly athletics. ¡Pura Vida Mustang family!”
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – With the first two days of the Cal Poly men’s basketball program’s eight-day tour of Costa Rica in the books, junior guard Drake U’u put his fingers to the keyboard to provide Mustang fans with an update of the trip.
“As soon as we landed and went through customs, our personal tour guides for the trip greeted us; they were thrilled to be our hosts. As we checked into our hotel, they prepared a presentation that provided us a background of Costa Rica and mapped out our schedule for the week. It was here that our tour guide, Amelio, educated us about the Costa Rican phrase, “Pura vida,” a cultural way of greeting people in the country, similar to “hakuna matata.” Following the presentation, we attended a barbeque with some fellow Cal Poly athletes, boosters and families. The host family was fantastic. Having had four children attend Cal Poly, they were avid Mustang fans and some of the friendliest people. During the luncheon, there was a major rainstorm that was like nothing I’d ever experienced. Some of my teammates – Matt Titchenal in particular – were crazy enough to run out in the rain fully clothed and dance around. The food was delicious and nearly put me in a coma (I thought the streak, in particular, was phenomenal). Overall, it was great being able to see other friends and families from San Luis Obispo and even better hanging with other Cal Poly basketball fans!
“We woke up around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and ate breakfast before driving 90 minutes to one of Costa Rica’s active volcanoes (above). At an altitude of 11,200 feet, we were at Costa Rica’s second-highest peak. At the site, we were able to walk through the fog to a viewing point, where we could look to the bottom of the volcano. The view was breathtaking. While there were some discussions about throwing freshman Reese Morgan into the volcano as an initiation, we figured it was best to keep him around for his sharp-shooting ability.
