HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team takes its first step in a historic goodwill trip when it departs for Asia on Friday morning, officially kicking off “Warriors to Asia,”  a nearly two-week long tour through China and Japan.

UH will participate in numerous exhibition games and cultural activities during the trip, all the while building a valuable bridge between Asia and the University of Hawai'i. The 15-day tour includes stops in DongGuan, Shanghai, Qinngdao and Beijing in China and Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. The team will return to Honolulu on Aug. 21 after having navigated through nearly a dozen Asian cities via plane, bus and train.

The Rainbow Warrior 10-man roster includes returnees Zane Johnson, Bobby Miles, Joston Thomas and Trevor Wiseman; returning redshirts Pi'i Minns and Davis Rozitis; and newcomers Haun Brereton, Tyler Brown, Brandon Jawato and Shaquille Stokes. Junior post player Vander Joaquim, who is currently training with the Angolan national team, and senior point guard Jeremiah Ostrowski, who begins fall football camp for the Warriors, are the only returnees not making the trip. 

The team has seven games lined up—two practice games and five exhibition contests—during the trip. The World University Games is taking place in China during that time and the team's first action will be scrimmages against a pair of international squads in Australia and Brazil. UH, ironically, will meet up against associate coach Walter Roese, who is serving as the head coach for Brazil's World University Games team.

UH will then play a total of four exhibition games against three Chinese professional teams. The Rainbow Warriors will face Shandong Huangjin, Qingdao Shuangxing and Shenyang Panpan of the China Basketball Association (CBA). UH will conclude the trip in Osaka, Japan with a contest against the Panasonic Trains of the Japan Basketball League. 

The Rainbow Warrior will also immerse themselves in cultural activities, highlighted by visits to the Great Wall of China and Mountain Lao.

Check in with HawaiiAthletics.com throughout the tour as strength coach Chris McMillian chronicles the adventures of the team with a video diary.