The following is a client testimonial from the 2025 Pyrenees Basket Cup Tour. Tristan traveled with us a month after turning 16. He was named tournament MVP in France and was noticed by a European club and accepted an offer to finish high school in Europe and play for a professional club over there. This, of course, doesn’t happen with all our athletes. But it’s a great story of our tours helping change lives. If you are interested in applying to travel with SAWUSA, get your application completed below.
Hey Mike,
This is Tristan De Santiago. The last time we met or saw each other was on a zoom call, where you gave me a spot on the Pyrenees Basketball Cup Tour. My family wasn’t sure of if we wanted to accept it or not, in fact it took quite a while. But eventually we came to terms with it and decided it would be best to go to Barcelona.
What would happened there was truly the best I could ask for. We won our exhibitions games by a lot. Most importantly, we lost one by 50 to a really good Spanish team. This game allowed me to understand where I need to be at as a player that wants to play professionally. It also helped our team understand where we need to be at.
When went to France and the moment had come, we were welcomed as if we were all celebrities. There were cameras on us the second we got of the bus, announcers talking, everything a young boy could ask for. On the first day we were able to win all three games and secure the number one seed in the tournament heading into the top bracket.
The night before championship Sunday, I remember being more nervous than ever as I saw these upcoming games as some of the biggest of my life. My dad and I just stared at the mountains knowing what pressure or expectations we might face tomorrow. The first game we played a team we had already beat and they came out firing and we did end up beating them. In the championship we had to play a professional team in France called ASVEL Villeurbanne. We ended up winning Gold and I was named the Finals MVP, scoring twenty-eight.
However, this is not about me. The reason I am sending this long email is because I wanted to share my gratitude for this tour. The people on it (coaches, tour coordinator (Minh), parents, and players) were the best people I could have asked to share this opportunity with. My coach especially was one of the best I have ever had. He was more than a coach, and now our relationship goes way deeper than basketball.
To end this email I want to say that there are not many people who get to represent the USA. To have the opportunity to do that with the people I did it with and my family along side means everything to me. To win Gold and be treated like a celebrity at the end, with the trophies and the cameras means everything. To bring back a trophy to my coach, and to SAWUSA, and to bring back an MVP to Chicago means everything.
This tour was the best experience I could ask for and I truly believe it did change my life. Thank you Mike and Tim and the rest of the SAWUSA staff.
Sincerely,
Tristan DeSantiago