UPDATE: The Hoyas actually have one more game. (Sighs). Changed the post as such.
No fights this time for Georgetown. Just basketball.
Three days after a brawl broke out during an exhibition game between the Hoyas and Chinese professional team Bayi Rockets, Georgetown closed continued its tour of China with a 92-69 win against the Liaoning Dinosaurs, another pro team. It was, according to a New York Times report, a little sloppy at first, but was a massive relief for Hoyas coach John Thompson III.
“I would be misleading if I didn’t saw the last couple of days have been trying and stressful,” he told Karson Yiu of ABC News. “But it’s good for myself as a coach and it’s good for our players to get back onto the court.”
It was quite the setting, too. Admission was free and the court was outdoors under a giant tent as part of a promotional event in Shanghai. But the packed house and unusual venue didn’t create any issues.
Thursday night’s game did enough of that.
The full-court melee made headlines thanks to its unexpectedness (it was an exhibition) and circumstances, (U.S. Vice President was making an official visit to China at the same time) and ferociousness. Video captured players swinging chairs at each other and minutes of mayhem.
Now, the Hoyas can end their overseas trip on a positive note. They have one more game, which looks to be Taiwanese National Team tomorrow. That’s more than enough for Thompson.
“It’s important for our players to walk away understanding that we are Georgetown,” Thompson told Yiu. “The things that you do, the things that we do, whether you think about it or not, in some way shape or form can have an effect that goes above and beyond our little group.”
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