02 August 2023 Basketball sides tackle Taiwan tournament

Lincoln University’s basketball sides will have an immersive cultural experience representing New Zealand in an invitational tournament.

The 2023 Buddha's Light Cup International University Basketball Invitational is organised by a lay organisation but the players will be staying at a rural buddhist monastery and travelling 30km to the competition in Kaohsiung City.

Twenty four players from the men’s and women's sides have made the trip, along with coaches and management, with the costs covered by the organisers.

Manager Hoani Smith said the tournament was akin to an unofficial university world cup, and it included  teams from the USA and China.

The Lincoln side was made up of current and former students but included two promising St Andrew's College pupils.

He said the international experience would be valuable for all the players, as would the cultural experience they would gain from staying with the monks.

Lincoln will play in both of the opening games today, which take place before the official opening ceremony tonight. The opening matches are part of round robin play to win through to the knockout games in the seven-day tournament.

Watch the men's side take on Kaohsiung Normal University at 1pm here and the the women's team play Nagoya Institute of Technology here at 2.40pm.

Applications for Lincoln University Basketball Scholarships close 15 August. For more information, and to apply, go here.