Sweating it out at practice
The Hawaii basketball team has a newfound appreciation for its own practice gyms.
The Warriors went through a 90-minute workout on Thursday, August 11, at the practice facility for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles professional team in Qingdao, China.
The players compared the conditions to a sauna. Temperatures outside were in the 90s, with extremely high humidity – and the gym did not have air conditioning.
“The floor is sweating by itself because it’s so humid in here,” sophomore forward Davis Rozitis said.
Junior forward Joston Thomas said he was feeling light-headed for the first 15 minutes of the practice, but he adjusted after drinking a bottle of water.
The Warriors are scheduled to play four games in five days against Chinese teams, starting with a game on the evening of Friday, August 12 (China time).
“Makes me appreciate Honolulu weather,” Rozitis said. “When you think it’s hot back there, you come here and it’s hell. Tying my shoes, I’m sweating.”
The Warriors went on to play an exhibition game against the Eagles the following night, and Qingdao won, 81-80.