The Reason We are Here!

After a comment from my brother, I realized I hadn't shared much about the real reason we are here...basketball!

Phillip during opening introductions at home!

Phil taking it to the hole at Uppsala

The main game is the same as back in the States of course. Phillip has a team made up of a majority of Swedish players, one from Serbia, one from Croatia, one that is American with a Bosnian passport (the trick is to see where you have family from and obtain a passport from that country so that you don't count towards the American limit). Each  team is only allowed two Americans on the team,  so that would be Darius Santee and Phillip. Phillip played against Darius for two years in college because he attended UNLV and they are both from Houston!

Travel time

Chillin on the bus :)

The team practices twice a day. Once in the morning, then they have lunch as a team then practice again in the evening. They typically have 1-2 games per week. Usually on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Games are on at 11:04am Albuquerque time and can be followed on basket.se if you are interested. For away games the team typically travels by bus. The trips are usually a 2 hour drive.  We are allowed to travel with the team, so that's really nice.  Jayden loves going on the bus, watching movies and playing on his iPad. He also really enjos hanging out with the guys. For the games that are further away the team will travel by train. Their budget is very limited so no flying for them.

Our charter bus

Fyrishov Gym at Uppsala

The gyms that the team plays in vary from town to town. Some are very nice and big, others look like a YMCA back home. The first game we traveled to was very nice. Eco was playing Uppsala Basket. They played at a gym named Fyrishov which reminded me of the big community center in Santa Fe. It had a restaurant, a water park, and a bowling alley. The second game was at Norrkoping Stadium Arena. It was quite nice.  Like a NBA arena with a restaurant court side, a VIP lounge and stadium style seating. They are going to be playing in the Euro league next year so they have to play in a nice place.  Eco Orebro's gym is like a typical High School arena.  It is not very big, not very fancy and there isn't a very big fan following :(  They are in the renovation process so hopefully it improves.

Warming up at Uppsala

Uppsala

Game at home

And he scores!

Norrkoping Stadium Arena

Ok, enough about the arenas, on to the games! Right now the team is 5-19! Not very good, but each game they are improving. They are 4 games out of the playoffs right now. In the last three games they have lost by one point, won, then lost by one point again so they are right there to get on track.  The team is made up of a lot of talented players, but with 11 new players this year, the chemistry is still lacking. It's as though certain players only pass to certain others and its frustrating to watch. These are professionals, playing to improve their personal stats in order to get a better contract next year so the result is selfish play at times.


The coaching is very different from Alford and what Phillip has been used to. I don't know much about the X's and O's so I can't say much, I just observe a lot of differences.  I hear the fans express their frustration each and every game with the outcome of the games. They are paying a good amount of money to watch a team that continues to lose so it's difficult. From the first game I attended til now, attendance has really decreased. However, there are only 3 home games remaining, so I think the hope lies in next year.

Regardless, Phillip is living his dream. He is playing professional basketball, experiencing a world outside the US with us and learning a lot about this business every day. We are truly blessed!

View from the bus

As Jayden would say, "Go ECO!"