We easily handled Cycl’hop in the quarter finals, setting up a semi-final match against AOC Square, one of the top French teams. They have two brothers, Adrien and Jeremy, who play a lot like our own Jeremy; extremely fast and aggressive, going for steals in a full-court press. We started out well, using solid passes to beat the press and score a number of easy baskets, and at halftime we were up 18-14. In the second half, we were less accurate in our passing game and turned the ball over too much, allowing the Squares to start with a 14-2 run for a 28-20 lead. A timeout allowed us to regroup, and we pulled to within 2 points at 28-26. AOC regained a 4-point lead with less than a minute remaining, and Lance nearly had a chance for a three-point play when he was fouled hard in the lane with 11 seconds left, his shot rolling off the front of the rim. He made one of the two ensuing free throws as we called timeout again. We nearly got a steal on the inbounds play, with Mark Wilder intercepting the ball, but he was called for a questionable foul on the play. They successfully threw a long inbound pass to Jeremy who scored a layup for the final basket. Final score, 32-27.
We’re still in contention for a medal, today in the third-place game, which is a rematch against AOC Circle, the team we tied with in the prelims. It should be a great match with a big crowd, mostly cheering for the French. Viva la Revolution!