Cal Poly Men's Basketball in Costa Rica, Aug. 17
WATCH CAL POLY'S SUMMER UPDATE VIDEO CAL POLY PROSPECTUS: VIEWABLE | DOWNLOADABLE MEET THE MUSTANGS: DAVID HANSON | WILL TAYLOR SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Behind a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double from sophomore forward Chris Eversley and 12 points from freshman guard Reese Morgan, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program – currently on a seven-day tour of Costa Rica – rebounded on Wednesday evening to defeat the men’s national team, 72-47. Senior guard Amaurys Fermin complimented an eight-assist outing with eight points and senior forward Will Taylor snatched seven boards for the Mustangs, who spent time prior ... Senior guard Amaurys Fermin complimented an eight-assist outing with eight points and senior forward Will Taylor snatched seven boards for the Mustangs, who spent time prior to the game volunteering at a children’s shelter. Cal Poly also visited Costa Rica’s National Museum, Legislative Assembly and Supreme Court of Justice on Wednesday. To update Mustang basketball fans on the team’s trip, junior guard Chris O’Brien (above center) filed the tour journal entry for Aug. 17. The Mustangs, 1-1 on their tour after dropping a Tuesday matchup versus the Costa Rica Men’s National Team, finish their three-game schedule versus Barva Basketball Club on Thursday evening. “Being in another country is a great experience but one of the difficulties is adapting to the language and the culture. We rely heavily upon (senior guard) Amaurys Fermin to help us translate when we are stuck in a conversation with a local resident. The shops and stands in the local market are very diverse and each owner has a different way of selling merchandise. A lot of the guys had interesting choices, but a reason behind each purchase. Some of the gifts bought included soccer jerseys, hand-carved key chains, magnets, mugs, ponchos and even a tiki mask (Will Donahue). After a few hours of fun in the city, it was time to get off our feet in preparation for Wednesday’s rematch versus the Costa Rica Men’s National Team. “Upon arriving at the hotel, we ate our pregame lunch and watched film from Tuesday’s game. Although we did not win our previous contest, the film session gave players and coaches valuable insight on what we had to improve upon and things we needed to continue to do to be successful. We took advantage of the film session and bounced back with determination and focus to win, 72-47. From the tip, we were relentless on both ends of the floor. We had contributions from everyone; it began with our guard leadership, which led to our big men getting rebounds and easy scores. Thursday will be another great test against a strong Barva Basketball Club, but the Mustangs are ready and excited to get another victory and represent Cal Poly here in Costa Rica.” Chris O’Brien
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Behind a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double from sophomore forward Chris Eversley and 12 points from freshman guard Reese Morgan, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program – currently on a seven-day tour of Costa Rica – rebounded on Wednesday evening to defeat the men’s national team, 72-47.
“¡Hola from Costa Rica! We have now been in this beautiful country for two full days and are enjoying every second of it. After a tough loss on Tuesday night against the Costa Rica Men’s National Team, we got together for a great dinner. After having breakfast at the hotel on Wednesday morning, we departed on the bus to go spend time with kids at the Guarderia El Manantial school. At first I was unsure of what to expect, but once we arrived and saw the kids it turned out to be an unforgettable experience. We gathered in their playground and began playing with all of the kids on the jungle gym and swings and did our best to keep up with their energy. It was a great feeling and experience to know how much we can make a difference in someone’s life and the reaction we got from these kids was like nothing I had ever felt before. Some of us were more popular among the kids, especially David Hanson, who constantly found himself becoming a human playground for four or five kids at a time (right). It was a great and humbling experience to get to know all of the kids and how happy they were to see us. After spending the morning with the kids, we got back on the bus and headed toward downtown San Jose.
“The city of San Jose is beautiful and the downtown area really showed the cultural diversity that the city and country has to offer. Once off the bus, players and coaches began taking photos of everything. As we began walking down the street, some of us got a little too comfortable and, not realizing that we weren’t in downtown San Luis Obispo, crossed a street with a red light. The next thing we knew, a tiny red taxi no bigger than a Mini Cooper came to a screeching halt. The driver laid on the horn as hard as possible. Although no one was injured, we realized that we were not at home anymore and had to be aware of everything. As we continued to walk and explore downtown San Jose, (assistant coaches) Mitch Freeman, Mitch Reaves and myself split off from the group to find the source of the freshly made churros that we had smelled. After a couple of rusty English to Spanish translations, we enjoyed one of the best churros we had ever eaten. We continued to follow our fearless tour guide Amelio as he escorted us through local parks and pointed out numerous buildings and shops. One of the more interesting stops was to see the different embassies of numerous countries. We also stopped in front of the Legislative Assembly (above). The tour of the city was very enjoyable in all aspects and before we left we wanted to go to a local market to purchase a few souvenirs for our friends and family back home.
