The BYU-Hawaii Seasiders basketball team kicked off the new season with the 2nd annual Asia-Pacific Basketball Classic held on Nov. 14-15 at the BYU-Hawaii Cannon Activities Center.
BYU-Hawaii hosted teams from South Korea and Samoa, as well as local rivals Hawaii Pacific University and Chaminade University in this year's tournament which was played in a round-robin format. The Seasiders prevailed in both of their games in a thriller over Song Kyun Kwan University from Seoul, South Korea, 96-89 on Friday, and doubled up Team Samoa 100-50 in the Saturday night match.
The National Collegiate Athletics Association allows each college in the U.S. to host two pre-season basketball games that do not count toward its season record. BYU-Hawaii officials wanted their pre-season games to contribute to what they see as one of the university's main purposes -- building relationships within the Asia-Pacific region.
"We enjoy having teams of this caliber come from around the Pacific Rim to play our Seasiders, and we're even more interested in the important relationships we can continue to develop through athletics," said Keith Roberts, university VP for academics who oversees the sports program. "With nearly 50 percent of our students from outside the U.S., and with most of them coming from Asia and the Pacific Islands, this type of tournament makes sense for us."
"Our first tournament, last year, as well as this year's was a huge success in bringing together international teams for exciting basketball and friendship," said Ken Wagner, BYU-Hawaii athletics director and Seasiders basketball head coach. "We really look forward to this annual event."
Activities before the tournament included a banquet for the teams and their entourages at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Nov. 13 and meeting the Hawaii State Governor and Lt. Governor earlier in the same day at the State Capitol.
Governor Linda Lingle personally welcomed all of the teams and applauded BYU-Hawaii for creating an event that matched the vision of the State of Hawaii in developing relationships. "I'm happy to be a part of it," she said.
In reading the letter of commendation presented to BYU-Hawaii, Lingle said, "This tournament has been a tremendous success and it gives me great pleasure to commend BYU-Hawaii for sponsoring a tournament of this caliber in our islands and furthering the goals of building academic and athletic relationships with our international neighbors from around the Pacific Rim."
Lt. Governor Duke Aiona, who played basketball competitively in his earlier years and now coaches a local high school team also liked the concept of the Asia-Pacific Basketball tournament. "In an event such as this, we can learn from each other in style, technique and strategy," he said.
BYU-Hawaii has already established partnerships with universities and other entities throughout Asia and the Pacific, both academically and in the athletics arena.
Several coaches from the university have conducted clinics for coaches and players in various countries around the Pacific Rim, and the Seasider basketball team has played "home-and-home" games with Yonsei University of Korea. As with the overall student body, a large percentage of student athletes also come from other countries.
The tournament is co-sponsored by BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, the number one paid tourist attraction in Hawaii that sits adjacent to the campus.
The tournament slogan, "a tournament like no other" lives up to it billing as a one-of-a-kind event unique only to BYU-Hawaii in the nation.
The tournament slogan, "a tournament like no other" lives up to it billing as a one-of-a-kind event unique only to BYU-Hawaii in the nation.