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| Our Uniform |
(Just jotting down thoughts, nothing polished haha 😅)
At first, I was assigned to the Australia team, but after a bit of back-and-forth I ended up with the Taiwan National Team. Honestly, I was pretty happy about it—being able to work with the main squad and experience everything from practices, pre-game prep, games, and post-game routines all together was a rare and valuable experience.
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| Gonna go to the stadium |
Since it was the Taiwan National Team, there was naturally more work compared to other teams—things like laundry, towels, dinner boxes. I was the one coordinating those. I mean, I couldn’t exactly ask the captain 劉錚 to go collect towels 😂.
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| My everyday job |
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| The huge laundry bag for the whole team, at least 20kg i think… |
But I was fine with it—every role is important in making a team function, and that’s what makes a team great. On top of that, I somehow became Coach Tucci’s “head ticket manager.” Whenever he suddenly shouted, “I need 20 tickets!”, I had to make it happen 😅. The man has a LOT of friends haha.
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| Coach Tucci asking me where are his friends |
Honestly though, the coaching staff was incredibly tough. Sometimes we wouldn’t get back to the hotel until 11pm after a game, and they’d still have to hold meetings. The next day, practice might start as early as 9am. One time Coach Tucci sent the game plan to our group chat at 5 in the morning—I thought to myself:
“Does this man ever sleep?”
It was intense, but it also showed just how much passion and dedication they had.
As for players, my personal favorite throughout the tournament was 阿拉薩. I know that sounds random, but he was super outgoing and always came up to chat with me. One time at breakfast in the hotel, he just sat right across from me. Really kind guy, and surprisingly good at Chinese too haha.
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| My guy asks me to help him warm up |
📖 Two Small Stories
🧵 The Case of the Missing Towels
Because it was the national team, the organizers provided sponsor towels for players to use during games—10 each time. After games, I had to collect them all and send them back to the hotel laundry.
One day, after the game, I counted the towels and realized one was missing. I checked the bench—nothing. Locker room—nothing. Even asked in the group chat—no response. Weird, since those towels are huge.
The next game, I only had 9 towels. I kept counting during the game: halftime—still 9, fourth quarter—still 9. After the buzzer, I quickly grabbed 8 towels and stuffed them into the bag. One was left—Robert had it on his shoulders. But since he had a post-game interview, I thought, “Okay, no rush, I’ll get it after.”
After his interview, I saw him walking back… but the towel had disappeared. I asked,
“Hey bro, where’s the towel? Weren’t you wearing it to the interview?”
Robert replied,
“Oh, I tossed it into the stands for the fans.”
I was stunned. Then I asked,
“Wait… did you also throw one yesterday?”
He laughed,
“Yeah.”
Directly caught in the act 😅. Later on, when getting off the bus, he even told his family he “accidentally” threw the towel to the fans. His parents looked shocked too haha. Thankfully, it wasn’t a hotel towel—otherwise we’d be paying for it.
👕 Big B Almost Couldn’t Play
One day after laundry was already sent out, I suddenly got a Line message:
“Hey Jason, can I still send my clothes to laundry? I forgot earlier.”
I replied,
“Too late for today, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
Big B replied,
“Damn… but that’s my jersey for tonight’s game. What do I do?”
So I became his personal laundry assistant—ran out to a quick-wash shop and got it cleaned in a rush. I thought I’d be lonely, but funny enough, I ran into another player there also doing his laundry alone… his name? Jason Brickman 😅. Two Jasons, same laundromat, same time—what are the odds?
After it was done, I left the jersey and receipt at Big B’s hotel door. Later at the game, he even gave me 500 bucks as a delivery tip. Good guy.
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| Just save Brandon’s game today haha |
But just when I thought that problem was solved… a few days later, he messaged me again:
“Hey Jason, when will today’s laundry come back?”
I said,
“Not until after tonight’s game.”
Big B:
“Damn… but that’s my jersey for tonight’s game.”
It was déjà vu, like I had opened Pandora’s box and the exact same conversation was happening again. I quickly asked the admin center if the laundry had already been picked up. “YES.”
GG. I immediately told the team manager, who looked serious and asked,
“Big B is resting today.”
I double-checked:
“So… he’s on rest?”
“Yes!”
Instant relief. I quickly told Big B,
“You’re resting today.”
He replied,
“I know.”
I asked,
“Then why were you so desperate for your jersey?”
He said,
“I only knew there was a 50% chance I’d rest.”
I joked,
“You didn’t ‘accidentally’ lose your jersey on purpose just so you could rest, right?”
We looked at each other and burst out laughing. 🙌 Thanks to God’s grace, the problem was solved.
🙏 Wrapping Up
Big thanks to all the Jones Cup teammates who made everything run smoothly.
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| My colleagues |
And of course—please support the Taiwan National Team! 🇹🇼
The FIBA Asia Cup tips off on August 6, first game against the Philippines.
💪 We’ve got this—let’s go! 🔥
Some pics
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| Let’s go baby, we’re here to WIN |
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| Timeout |
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| You gotta utilize every chances to talk about game plan |
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| Ex NBA OKC player - Andre Roberson, he’s playing for the Philipines |
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| My guy Rhenz Abando |
