MORAGA, Calif. – The Saint Mary's men's basketball team kicked off its foreign tour down under with a full day of travel, leaving San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, before connecting through to Christchurch, New Zealand. The Gaels left Friday night out of the Bay Area and arrived on the South Island of New Zealand on Sunday afternoon.
 
As the Gaels arrived in Christchurch, they had several family members waiting to greet them. Freshmen Quinn Clinton and Dan Fotu, both are from New Zealand, with Clinton hailing from Christchurch and Fotu from Auckland.
 
The first day of the tour was spent catching up on some rest, touring downtown Christchurch, and an evening of practice at a local high school. Following practice, the team had dinner and was joined by several family members.
 
"It was good to see the family. It's pretty cool to bring everyone here and show them where I grew up," Clinton said. "It will be fun to play in front of them and show Christchurch a high-level game."
 
"It's pretty cool for the boys to meet my family and see our home country," Fotu said. "I just want to be able to soak it all in while we are here and have some meat pies."
 
The Gaels had a strong practice at Cashmere High School in preparation for tomorrow's opening game against the Mainland Eagles. The game will begin at 5 p.m. local time and be played at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch.
 
Saint Mary's Foreign Tour Game Schedule
Date           Team                              Site                 
Aug. 6        Mainland Eagles            Christchurch, New Zealand
Aug. 7        Canterbury Rams           Christchurch, New Zealand
Aug. 9        Melbourne United           Melbourne, Australia
Aug. 10      Dandenong Rangers      Melbourne, Australia
Aug. 12      Hobart Chargers             Hobart, Tasmania
Aug. 14      Illawarra Hawks              Sydney, Australia
Aug. 15      Sydney Kings                 Sydney, Australia

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