It has been a mile a minute for the NZ HoopNation team at the Malacca International Tournament in Kuala Lumpur over the last few days with tough matches and interesting cultural experiences.
The 10-strong squad was put together by Wanganui's Paul Berridge and KJ Allen after their fourth annual invitationaltournament at Springvale Stadium in late October.
Berridge himself has taken the court in Malaysia as the New Zealanders had a tough first-up loss to the host team Melaka 86-57, where their leading player Sid Adams had a good game despite sustaining a nasty gash under his left eye during the first quarter, which bled noticeably.
The side then lost to the Thailand invitational team 105-73, and were scheduled to have their next match against the squad from Indonesia.
On Facebook, Berridge said while the results had not been going their way, the experience had been awesome for the entire touring team and their supporters.
"But it's all about the opportunities that we are creating for our up-and-coming ballers and this is what HoopNation is about."
Having attended several dinner gala and tourist events around the tournament, the Kiwis have proved very popular as the invited teams were asked to put on a performance at the opening ceremony.
