Tommy Foster, E Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery, shoots a layup during a game against 286th Signal Company (Team A) Monday at Milam Gym. E Btry. won the game 39-36, advancing them into the semifinals of the 11th ADA basketball championship. Photo by Dustin Perry.
Punishers edge out victory in 11th ADA B-ball matchup
Dustin Perry, Editor
Following his team’s slim 39-36 victory against 286th Signal Company (Team A) on the opening night of the 11th Air Defense Artillery basketball championship Monday, Treasure Tobe made a lofty claim:
“We’re going to take it all – the brigade and post championship,” he said. “Just like we did with flag football.”
As of press time, the outcome of Wednesday’s game between Tobe’s team – E Battery, 5th Battalion, 52nd ADA – and their rivals in D Company was unknown, but a win will earn them a spot in the finals tonight at Milam Gym and bring them one step closer to fulfilling that prophecy.
Monday’s matchup was as nail-biting as they come. E Battery took the lead early and held it for the majority of the first half, but they were never up by more than five points. The 286th offense was relentless, coming within a point of their opponents three times in 20 minutes and finally taking a 15-14 lead in the final seconds. Lamar Green was E Battery’s leading scorer in the first half, racking up six of his eight total points for the night.
Split between three players, E Battery started off strong in the second half with four straight field goals, giving them a seven-point lead. Two plays later, Tommy Foster sank a gorgeous three-pointer – the only one of the game – to put his team even further ahead. The lead twice juggled over to 286th midway through the half, but William Green sank two free throws and regained it. A layup from Foster put E Battery on top by a game-high nine points, a lead they held for the remainder of the game, but 286th came within a breath of overtaking the game, trailing by a single point in the last 40 seconds. Lamar was fouled and sank both of his free throws, earning the final two points of the game and a win for his team.
“We beat (286th) in the regular season, but that doesn’t matter – it’s all about what happens next,” said Lamar. “It feels good to make it into the semifinals. We’ve just got to play our game the way we know how, and we’re going to win.”
“It was a tough, hard-fought game,” said Irvin Spencer, E Battery point guard. “In the second half, we just came out with more intensity than we had in the first half. We had to keep the mentality that we knew we were going to win the game.”
The championship game will be held 7 p.m. tonight at Milam Gym.