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Akron Zips Basketball Foreign Tour Blog: Bahamas Trip 2016 Day One
August 13 | Men's Basketball
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2016 Foreign Tour: Atlantis Bahamas Photo Gallery: Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six
Akron Zips Basketball Foreign Tour Blog: Bahamas Trip 2016
Friday, August 12 – Day One Departure – Zippy in Paradise and Carlitos Anderson
Nassau, Bahamas – Early Friday morning around 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, the Akron Zips men's basketball team gathered at James A. Rhodes Arena in preparation to leave for the 2016 foreign tour in Nassau, Bahamas.
UA's Roo Express shuttle started the all day 1,133-mile excursion to Paradise Island's Atlantis Resort. The squad safely arrived at Cleveland International Airport for an 8:45 a.m. flight. While at the airport, the team spotted Zippy going through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint.
The mascot was again spotted on the plane and at the layover destination at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. On the flight to Nassau, the flight attendant stopped Zippy and sparked a lengthy conversation, while presenting her with a set of wings. The flight attendant pinned wings on Zippy's shirt and asked for a photo with the UA mascot, which Zippy obliged.
After two hours in the air, the team and the mascot landed in the Bahamas around 2:15 p.m. The group had almost reached its final destination, but first would have to go through immigration. After a long wait, everyone was cleared to enter the Bahamas and a 45-minute drive would seal the deal. Finally, after several hours traveling the men's basketball team and Zippy arrived at Atlantis around 5:00 p.m.
The squad met for a team dinner, enjoyed the scenery for a few of hours, and began focusing on the Saturday, Aug. 13, exhibition game at 1 p.m. against the CTG Knights, who played the University of Wyoming tough on Tuesday, Aug. 9, before falling by a 81-74 final score.
Thoughts from Senior Carlitos Anderson
Today (Friday), we landed in the Bahamas with a long exciting week ahead of us. Looking forward to many great times this week, but most of all, we have the opportunity to bond as a team on and off the court.
This is a special moment, allowing us our first real opportunity to play together as a new team while providing the opportunity to have lots of time together off the court to create some team chemistry.
On our itinerary there is a ton of free time for us to explore this beautiful island, and there is no one better to share that experience with, your brothers.
All in all I think this trip will be productive but also fun, and ultimately give us a running start into an amazing year.
