The Meiji University Athletic Association Basketball Club held its 52nd series of exchange games with the basketball team from Korea University in the Republic of Korea on July 18 and 19.
The exchange series began in 1968 to improve athletic performance and promote international exchange. Since then, the two universities have continued the program by taking turns hosting each other. Korea University is known as a powerhouse in Korean collegiate basketball.
On July 18, a Korea University delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Surugadai Campus. Attendees from Meiji University included ISHIZU Toshie, Vice President (Student Affairs); KIKUCHI Masao, General Manager of the Basketball Club; and SAITO Shoichi, Head Coach. Korea University was represented by Joo hee jung, Head Coach; Kim Taehyung, Coach; and others.
Vice President ISHIZU thanked the Korea University representatives for attending the Meiji University Basketball Club’s 100th anniversary event on June 21. Expressing her hopes for the players from both universities, she said, “I hope that you will learn from each other’s tactics and training methods and grow not only as athletes but also as people.”
Head Coach Joo offered his congratulations, saying, “I hope that the Meiji University Basketball Club will continue to grow beyond its 100th anniversary and toward its 200th anniversary.”
The exchange games were played in the gymnasium in Liberty Tower on the Surugadai Campus on July 18 and in the gymnasium on the Izumi Campus on July 19. Meiji University won the July 18 game 66–65, while Korea University won the July 19 game 65–47.
Commemorative photo before the exchange game