Hundreds of student athletes, parents and fans packed the Camp Foster Field House for the second annual Okinawan-American Shootout, a three day high school basketball tournament that included both American and Japanese teams from across Okinawa. Despite the intense competition on the courts, athletes from local Okinawan and Department of Defense high schools mixed together well between the games and made new friends as they enjoyed a USO sponsored pizza party on Saturday night.

The final games, played Sunday night, matched up the Koza and Itoman High School girls, with Koza High School taking home the championship trophy, after which the Kadena and Kitanakagusuku High School Boys played a hard fought championship game that saw Kadena win by just a single basket.

The tournament, sponsored by the U.S. Consulate General Naha, was made successful by the dedication of the players, coaches and fans as well as the close cooperation of several organizations including the Okinawa Basketball Association, the Department of Defense School system, the USO, the United States Marine Corps' Semper Fit Program, the Okinawa International Development Council, the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo.

This three-day cross-cultural sporting event drew well over a thousand players, students, educators, volunteers and fans from across Okinawa to the US Marine Corps' Camp Foster. For many of the participants, this is the first time they have been inside one of the US facilities based on their island and afforded them their first opportunity to see how Americans live. For many of the Japanese attendees, the event is tantamount to taking an actual trip to the United States allowed them chance to use English and personally interact with Americans.