January 23-25, Camp Foster - Hundreds of student athletes, parents and fans packed the Camp Foster Field House for the third 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 pizza party on Saturday night.

The Championship games, played Sunday evening, began with the girls final that matched up two Okinawan teams, Naha and Nishihara High Schools. After a close game, Naha High School finally emerged victorious in overtime play.

In the boy's Championship, the U.S. Air Force Base's Kadena High school and the Okinawan Oroku High School played a hard fought game that saw Oroku High School become the first Japanese Boy's team to take home the trophy in the three year history of the tournament.

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 (OABBA), the Department of Defense Dependents Schools Okinawa, USO, OABBA Referee Division, the United States Marine Corps' Semper Fit Program, and the NPO Okinawa International Development Council.