On Saturday, the Pitt basketball team will take off for its foreign tour to Spain and Tenerife.
The trip, lasting from Aug. 5-14, will start out in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, followed by a second leg in Barcelona, Spain. The Tenerife portion of the trip includes an exhibition game, tour of the city, and private cruise for the team. In Barcelona, the Panthers will tour the 1992 Olympic sites, visit Montjuic Hill and FC Barcelona Stadium, and play another exhibition game. The team will also tour Sitges, a seaside town in Spain.
Pitt took a 10-day trip to Italy in 2019, in which the group visited Rome, Florence, Venice, and Bologna. The Panthers have not taken a foreign trip as a team since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Another interesting note regarding foreign tours is that they enable international players to make money through Name, Image, and Likeness in some cases. Pitt’s Guillermo and Jorge Diaz-Graham are originally from the Canary Islands. In addition, Pitt has two other international players, Federiko Federiko and Papa Amadou Kante.
Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe reportedly made $500,000 in one week in the Bahamas on the Wildcats’ foreign tour last year, spending his trip appearing in commercials, signing autographs, and more.
Jorge Diaz-Graham will not play in the games in Spain due to a foot injury. On July 22, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel told Pat Bostick on 93.7 The Fan that Diaz-Graham was out for six weeks.
“Jorge is injured right now,” Capel said on 93.7 The Fan. “He’s out. He won’t be able to play in Spain with his foot. It’s a six-week deal. He’s in a boot right now. It’s nothing long term.”
Pitt’s Jorge Diaz-Graham Out Six Weeks with Foot Injury, Capel Says ‘Nothing Long Term’
A Pitt spokesperson told PSN that Federiko Federiko is the lone Panther that will not make the trip, as he is currently competing with the Finnish National Team.
