Men’s Hoops in Shanghai for Second Part of China Trip
Georgetown's basketball team defeated the Liaoning Dinosaurs, 92-69, at the Nike Festival of Sport in Shanghai during the Hoyas' tour of China.
August 22, 2011 – University leaders, alumni and members of the men’s basketball team are now in Shanghai, where they participated in a Nike Festival of Sport and engaged in athletic, cultural and educational exchanges as part of their Aug. 13-24 tour of China.
Acting U.S. Consul General Christopher Wurzel held a welcome reception Aug. 19 in honor of the men’s basketball team.
“I am very pleased we are all here together, in Shanghai, to continue the work we came to China to do,” said President John J. DeGioia said at the reception. “We are grateful in these efforts to have the profound support of the U.S. government.”
The team spent the first portion of their trip in Beijing.
Back on the Court
Head men’s basketball coach John Thompson III and his team led a clinic for young Chinese athletes at the Nike festival Aug. 20, then faced off against the Liaoning Dinosaurs for their third exhibition game the next day.
The Hoyas won the game 92-69.
The contest was the team’s first following their match-up Aug. 18 against the Bayi Rockets. The game ended prematurely after heated exchanges between both teams.
Better Understanding
“It’s a relief,” Thompson said. “It would be misleading to say that the last few days haven’t been trying and stressful. [But] I think our guys now have some small semblance of understanding of how everything we do is watched, is viewed, and how you can have an impact on your surroundings.”
The game against Liaoning focused on friendship and fair play, with the Chinese players offering Georgetown’s student-athletes stuffed panda bears as a gift to begin the match before a packed house at the festival stadium.
Engaging Alumni
Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson III talks during a panel discussion on "Global Universities and Diplomacy" at Shanghai's historic Xijiao Guesthouse.
The university hosted a panel discussion and reception in Shanghai at the historic Xijiao Guesthouse.
Nearly 200 alumni attended the event, which featured a conversation on “Global Universities and Diplomacy” led by DeGioia and Thompson.
Also on the panel were Victor Cha, director of Asian Studies and the D. S. Song-Korea Foundation Chair in Asian Studies at the School of Foreign Service, and Dennis McNamara, S.J., Georgetown’s Park Professor of Korean Studies and special assistant to the president for China affairs.
The vice mayor of Shanghai, Tu Guangshao, an alumnus of the university’s Global Education Institute, also was present for the gathering.
Related Information
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