Bounced out

OCdt Mark Hogan gets the ball out of a tight spot in Army’s second game against Wagga at the ACT Interservice Basketball Competition. Photo by Pte John Wellfare, Army newspaper

By Pte John Wellfare

ARMY basketballers proved no match for the competition at the ACT Interservice Basketball tournament held from August 13-15.

Having scored wins against all teams during the weekend of competition, Air Force was the favourite going into the finals against Navy.

For most of the first half it seemed as though the game would play out as expected, with Air Force dominating play and staying in front by a comfortable margin. Some good shooting from Navy near the end of the second quarter kept the sailors within striking distance and brought the halftime score to favour Air Force 44-31.

In the early stages of the second half Air Force were unstoppable, tearing up the court with one goal after another.

Navy caught on and tightened its defence to meet the onslaught. For a few minutes the game was played out in the centre of the court, with neither team able to push all the way to the goals.

Nearing the end of the third quarter Navy made its move, Leut Dion Curtis set the standard with some sharp three-pointers and the rest of the team went on the offensive until the scores evened out at 64-all by the beginning of the last quarter.

It could have been anyone’s game and both sides had shown their ability to score a string of goals in a running attack.

After a standoff in the first few minutes, Air Force went on the offensive once again and pushed ahead by a few points. The Navy team members, encouraged by their performance in the third quarter, refused to give up their shot at the title and fought the Air Force players every step of the way.

In the end Air Force was too strong and cleared enough distance from Navy for a close but definite win, 71-64.

The score showed a marked improvement in the Navy team, which had lost to Air Force 76-38 just the day before.

The other two teams fielded were Army and Combined Services Wagga, both of which were outshone by the Air Force and Navy sides.

Army put on a tough performance against Air Force on the first day of competition, but ultimately went down 72-64. That loss was closely followed by a second near miss when the Army team faced Navy later in the day, fighting hard to hold onto a chance for the finals, but ultimately coming up five points short with a Navy winning 59-54.

Army faced Wagga for the next two games, the second of which would decide third place in the competition. After a bitter defeat in the first match, Army came back and almost took the second game, but Wagga again proved too strong, winning 62-52.