Lee County teen gets international basketball experience

Writer: Sylvie Sparks
Published: Updated:
Chase Blazekovic

Lee County teenager Chase Blazekovic just got back from what he called the opportunity of a lifetime: suiting up for team USA in a Student Athlete World basketball tournament.

“It was a really great experience,” Blazekovic said. “It was a great honor putting on a USA jersey and just representing the country playing against the whole world really.”

Team USA came in second out of 52 countries that met in Portugal, falling to Canada in the championship.

The Ida Baker guard was invited to try out after being recommended by coaches.

“I didn’t believe it at first,” Blazekovic said. “I was like, that’s kind of like a prank mail.”

His mother Christin took the letter seriously and jumped at the chance to give her child an international experience.

“It does go beyond just playing basketball,” Christin Blazekovic said. “It was such a great experience for Chase to see the world and meet people from everywhere.”

Chase’s trainer Anthony Paez agrees.

He spent a decade playing overseas and thinks worldwide exposure can elevate anyone’s game.

“Sports are always evolving, just like the rest of the world does, training has evolved as well,” Paez said. “You really want to do your due diligence and make sure you’re surrounding yourself with the quality resources and the quantity of work that it takes to be successful.”

Next summer Chase will return to Europe to play in worldwide games in Austria, Germany and Italy.

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