Antelope's Cota gets chance to play in International tournament

Antelope basketball A.J. Cota was recently invited to represent Team USA in the Sportek Bahama Drama International Basketball Showcase this summer.

Cota, who averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game for the Rams last season, now has several different activities he needs to balance. The senior is also a member of the Antelope baseball team but now must keep his basketball game sharp and continue to raise money for the trip.

“I have good concentration as far as when I'm (at baseball practice), I focus on baseball and when I go home, I focus on basketball. I know it's pretty life-changing; my life goal is to be a professional basketball player so this is a really good opportunity.”

According to the Sportek website, the players will go through a two-day basketball camp in late July before traveling to the Bahamas to represent the United States in a three-day tournament.

“It's pretty cool. I mean, how often do you get to say your son is representing the country in an international basketball tournament?” Linda Cota said.

After receiving a letter a few months ago, Linda admits to being skeptical. But after doing some research and asking around, the opportunity seemed legitimate and now Cota must try to raise the money by going to local businesses.

Cota has a personal page that you can view and donate at mysportsdreams.com/digital.ebrochur/T8H94H/view. For more information on Sportek, go to sportekevents.com.