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Our Final Day in Greece

Our Final Day in Greece

(Editor's Note: Each day of the Greece Foreign Tour will feature a quick journal entry summarizing each day's activities. For instant updates, follow Boise State Women's Basketball on Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram. )

How did this trip go by so quickly?

It seems like just yesterday we were at the Parthenon, but a quick fact check will tell you that it was on Thursday. 

The speed of this trip went was the featured topic of discussion at our breakfast buffet, which overlooked our hotel’s two pools with the ocean beach casually in the background. Then we boarded the bus to head 15 minutes down the road to Astir Beach, one of the most high-end, prestigious private beaches in the Athens area. We learned later that it’s a popular meeting point for the Athenian and international elite, which explains the numerous yachts just past the buoys (we're all now inspired to live that life some day.)

We reserved cabanas at the private club, where we spent the next five hours on the quiet oceanside. The ocean had three different shades of blues, and the mountains in the distance created an unreal scenic view. We spent most of the time in our water and avoiding the burning hot sand (it was 100 degrees). 

Astria Beach
The view from Astir Beach

Towards the end of our outing, we decided to try tubing behind the back of a motorboat in the ocean. The driver started the journey slow, but after strong encouragement from the tubers he picked up the speed, attempting to knock some overboard. Four tubers were allowed on the tube at once, and at least one tuber fell off on each ride. Of the 20 total tubers, six fell off. Sports performance coach Justin Huynh has already stated that grip strength will be top priority this fall. 

A little peak behind the curtain here. The author of these journal entries is the sports communication contact, and one responsibility of that job is to handle media relations. Seizing the opportunity to work on some postgame interviews, I decided to ask one simple question to each fallen tuber. Their answers are below. 

How does it feel being one of six Broncos to fall of the tube today?

Senior Natalie Pasco: I fell off on purpose.  

Freshman Mason Borcherding: I was the one out there taking a risk. I was putting my thumbs out because that meant more speed. I wanted them to put the pedal to the metal, which is what I was going for in this experience. Falling off was a victory for me. 

Freshman Keirra Thompson: I feel honored that I was part of these six. My hands still hurt.

Videographer Kiersten Hart: I’ll take this with pride. That boat was kicking my butt but we made it work. I can just appreciate those that stayed on because it’s hard work.

Manager Matt Wallace: I was on until the end and would have made it if I hadn’t gotten pushed off by all of the others.

Assistant coach Mike Petrino: I stayed on until the very end. Then I remembered that [sports communications contact] Alex Semadeni had spent his entire day trying to catch a fish. Like I said, it was at the end of the ride. I saw a fish so I rolled off to try and grab it.”

We ended the day with a short walk across the street to eat dinner at Garbi, a seafood restaurant. Like most of our team dinners throughout the trip, the plates just kept coming. We started with bread and butter, then got French fries (we still can’t believe how many French fries we’ve had). Then came the calamari and shrimp, followed by a delicious sea bass. Those that had room indulged in desert (which randomly happened to be watermelon)

We also wanted to give a quick shoutout to the team for being extremely adventurous while eating food. Throughout the entire trip, the team turned down several “American options” in favor of traditional Greek cuisine.

Prior to our delicious dinner, head coach Gordy Presnell addressed the team with a speech. After thanking our two travel guides and support staff members, the greatest coach in program history had this to say to the team:

“…These were lifetime memories we just created. Thank you for being a part of that and making this a really special experience. I’ve always said, if you work hard, you bring enthusiasm and you show gratitude, great things will happen. That all happened on this trip. So thank you for making this a great trip. We’re going to have a great season. Go Broncos!”
- head coach Gordy Presnell prior to dinner

What a mic drop moment from the GOAT. With that being said, we’re going to sign off from the journal entries. We head to the airport first thing in the morning. A 12-hour flight to Chicago awaits us in the morning. Barring any setbacks, we’ll arrive in Boise at 11 p.m. Tuesday night (if my boss sees this, we ran into a lot of delays). 

Thank you to those who followed along as we documented this trip – it truly was the experience of a lifetime. Speaking for all of us here, we can’t wait to share the stories and memories with our loved ones in person back home (and truthfully, a good old-fashioned American fast food at our layover in Chicago). 

One final reminder that was very clear throughout this trip: this group’s chemistry is already off the charts. Two eight-point blowouts confirm they’ll be a problem on the court as well.  Be on the lookout for ticketing information coming soon as we prepare for what is undoubtedly going to be a special and memorable 2025-26 season. We’ll see you in ExtraMile Arena very soon!