MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI -- The Marine Corps Community Service’s Semper Fit Program held the Youth Sports Friendly Basketball Tournament at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, March 25, 2017.
The tournament bridged a gap between two cultures, helping the children make new friends through a common interest.
“Just the love of the game is enough to find some kind of communication, some type of connection between players,” said Eduardo “Eddie” Almonte, the MCCS Youth Sports Coordinator and Supervisor. “We can argue about semantics, fouls and that kind of stuff, but at the end of the game, it’s all about having fun.”
The tournament was composed of six junior high school teams from the Iwakuni area. Higashi Junior High School won first place.
“We practiced every day for about one and a half hours after school, practicing on basic skills like dribbling and handling,” said Takayu Ki, the head coach for Higashi Junior High School basketball team.
Ki said the team made a lot of new friends through basketball, and after each game they were able to talk and chat with each other about the sport.
Akio Nishi, the general manager of the Hiroshima Dragonflies professional basketball team, was the special guest at the tournament and came out on the floor to award first and second place teams with trophies and third place with medals.
Semper Fit also handed out posters and custom made coins to the coaches as a memento.
Overall, the tournament was held to promote U.S.-Japan relations between local schools, MCAS Iwakuni and MCCS Youth Sports.
“This definitely builds community relations, because the love of the game speaks and gives a connection between our youth,” said Almonte. “They can relate in one way or another and even though there is a language barrier, the love of basketball is there for them.”