Well the huge basketball tournament is over! Out of 24 teams, Scott's team, the Education Department, placed 6th! Scott also received a special award. This whole competition was a roller coaster experience- fun and exciting, but very aggravating at the same time.Basketball here is very different from American basketball. Our tempers flared on more than one occasion because of the excessive fouls and the referees who ignored them. Scott came home with a bleeding forehead, bruises from being pushed to the ground and a nearly broken jaw!
.... and yes, Scott did receive multiple warnings for talking back to the referees. Nontraditional as it is to confront the refs, the fans LOVED it, laughing and clapping for Scott.
Basketball is quite dangerous here because of the fouls that the refs allow to happen. At the second game a man was rushed to the hospital because some one threw an elbow and broke his nose. It took 20 minutes to stop the bleeding! After he was gone, the game resumed- and oddly enough, no one played more carefully! I was beside myself with anger. A man was just sent to the hospital, and yet no one considered to stop acting like a thug. It looked like some 8 year olds mauling each other to get to the ball.
Look at those claw marks on Scott's head!
Look at those claw marks on Scott's head!
It was fun for me as a spectator at all the games. Scotts biggest fan was a 4 year old boy. This little boy couldn't take his eyes off Scott- I took the boy over to meet Scott after the game, and he was soo shy but curious it made for an interesting exchange.
Around 8:00, the gym started getting full, and a riot broke out. Dozens of police men were sent to control the mobs of people trying to shove their way in to see the closing ceremony.
At one point, Scott and his team had to leave the stadium, but I was already sitting in the stands and couldn't make it out in time to go with him. This was right about the time the police started having trouble controlling the crowd- so they shut all the gates. No one in, no one out!
I was panicking because I didn't know how to get back to Scott, and I didn't have a cell phone. I had also jumped out of the stands onto the court to try to follow Scott, but once you do that, the only way to get back into the stands is to go outside and go up the stairs- but I can't get out the gate because the police have locked it! So I'm trapped on the court where another basketball game is going on, with no way to Scott and no way to get into the stands- finally, I'm rescued by an older gentlemen who knows Scott. He let me sit in the special seats reserved for government officials and the score keepers!!
Meanwhile, Scott is trapped outside with the mobs of angry citizens who aren't allowed in, worried because he can't get to me. He goes to every gate saying "My wife is in there! Let me see my wife!" but they all refuse to let him in because if the open the gates enough to let one person in, the people will riot and push their way in, too.
Thank the Lord, we met the Mayor of the city only two days before this. The Mayor got word that Scott is trapped outside and I'm trapped inside, and came to our rescue. The crowd splits like the Red Sea as the mayor comes to retrieve Scott, ushering him inside the gym and to where I'm sitting. What a friendly guy! That's the perk of being the only foreigner in the city.
So after all the frustrations, I tell Scott that I hope there isn't another competition next year.
Two days later, some leaders of the city basketball competition are at our door. Why are they there? Wouldn't you know, the top 8 teams were given cash awards! They were here to give Scott his award and an envelope full of money.
... so naturally, I hope they DO have another competition next year! haha Now I understand a little better why the men played so dirty and scrappy. We sure were glad that all those bruises and his aching back weren't for nothing!
CONGRATULATIONS, SCOTT!
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