Ida Baker basketball player prepares for third international tour

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — Basketball has taken Chase Blazekovic from hitting jump shots in his driveway to competing around the world.

The Ida Baker High School guard will travel to Costa Rica next month with Student Athlete World USA, marking his third consecutive international tour.

“I’m very excited because I’ve never been to Costa Rica before,” Blazekovic said. “My last couple of trips were some of the best times of my life.”

Blazekovic has previously traveled to Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany and Italy through basketball. He said competing overseas has helped him become tougher and adjust to a more physical style of play.

As he heads into his senior year, Blazekovic hopes the experience can help him earn a college basketball scholarship.

His mother, Christin, said the opportunity is a reward for years of early-morning workouts and late-night practices in the driveway.

“Words can’t really describe it,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see the work, the morning practices, the night practices in the driveway and the sacrifices that Chase made to be rewarded with a third consecutive tour.”

For Blazekovic, however, the biggest reward has been sharing the journey with his teammates and his mother.

“It’s not much about basketball,” he said. “It’s about the memories I made. I’m probably going to tell my future kids about it eventually.”