Heri Bukinga and Chris Kitenge stepped off a plane two years ago having to acclimate to new life in a new country.
Leaving their native Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa was not easy. But the opportunities the United States presented were too tough to pass up, especially considering how quickly the trajectories of their basketball careers changed in such little time.
After overcoming multiple obstacles, including learning a new language and adapting to American basketball, the two have become key contributors for DME Academy's basketball program in Daytona Beach. DME is playing in the City of Palms Classic Signature Series bracket this weekend in Fort Myers.
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"We were really excited to get them over," DME coach Matt Panaggio said. "Getting their paperwork and flights into the country wasn't an easy process, but we were able to get them here just over two years ago. Right when they got here, they didn't speak any English. They were very raw, but you could see the ability. They were really excited to be coached and to work hard and be at DME. In the last two years, they've both worked really hard and have come a long way.
"They weren't on our national team when they first got here. They moved up the ladder, and this year, both of them started at the City of Palms. They're both key contributors to our team."
Basketball wasn't in the cards growing up for Bukinga or Kitenge. They grew up playing soccer in the Congo, with the former starting when he was 3 years old. Kitenge's speed made him a winger on the pitch, something that's helped him on a basketball court with the amount of pace teams choose to play.
"The speed is different, and the execution is different," Kitenge said. "We don't really execute in Africa and play fast enough. The game is fast, and all the players, they're good. That's the biggest difference. They play inside here, we play outside."
For Bukinga, soccer looked to be the only sport in his future before he picked up a basketball five years ago. Shortly thereafter, he was attending camps with Kitenge. One hosted by NBA player and fellow Congolese native Bismack Biyombo catapulted their basketball careers into something they never dreamt of growing up.
"I was one of the tall guys in the country, and just played soccer," Bukinga said. "Coach Matt, my coach, his daddy (Dan), they came into my country. I would play basketball one time, and then they invited me to camps. I went there and did good. I didn't know anything. It was just block shot, and run. His daddy, he saw me and said, 'No, this kid, he's good.' He gave me a chance to come to the United States and that's the stuff I'm doing right now.
"The first time I got here, I didn't shoot the ball. I can do anything else, run, catch the ball, hook shot. I'm getting better. I can shoot. I can do everything. I appreciate my coach to keep me working hard every day. I think I'm going to do better."
Playing a slower style in Africa proved to be a bit of an adjustment for the two, but just like they learned English from scratch, it took time and they got better with repetition.
"It's not too hard in Africa compared to here," Bukinga said. "In the beginning, it was too difficult for us, here it was too fast. We don't run like how we run here. It was a little bit difficult. We kept practicing every day and learned from it."
"We compete," Kitenge added. "It's a game. It's competition. We've got to compete against good teams. We've got to come prepared for every game and compete with other teams. We've got to match up with the physicality, and be ready to play."
The next stop for both of them is either playing professionally or in college, and they are in good hands considering DME has produced a pair of NBA first-round picks in Keegan and Kris Murray.
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Biyombo, who was drafted seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2011 NBA draft, has played for seven NBA teams in his career, including Oklahoma City and Memphis last season. His career is well documented in Congo and he acts as a role model for Bukinga and Kitenge.
"It inspires us a lot to watch what he's doing, and gives us more energy to work hard in the future, and maybe we'll be able to do the same thing to our community," Kitenge said. "That inspires us. Bismack Biyombo inspires us. We are so thankful for him to give us a chance to come here to the U.S. and we are so thankful for DME to give us a chance to come to the U.S. We're so thankful about it."
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.