314th Maintainers sing basketball blues

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Cliffton Dolezal
  • 19th Airlift Wing/Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark --  The 19th Medical Group accomplished what they set out to do Monday night: set the tone, play physical and walk off the court with a 'W'.

The 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron won the jump ball to start the bout, but that's about the only thing the maintainers would win all night.

After the tipoff, the maintainers turned the ball over on their first two possessions, and the medics quickly turned those mistakes into points. The man-to-man, high-intensity, high-pressure defense of the combat medics couldn't be matched, setting the tempo for the remainder of the game, forcing the 314th to make quick decisions; this would ultimately be the demise of their offense.

After an 11-2 run by the 19th MDG, the 314th AMXS was forced to burn an early timeout, in an attempt to douse the flames that surrounded the medics, as they lit up the scoreboard.

Before the half was over, the maintainers would use the remainder of their first half timeouts, trying again and again to postpone the onslaught of the quick-paced, run-and-gun style of the 19th MDG's offense.

"We have been playing these guys for a couple of years now, so we know their game," said Staff Sgt. Peter Elefante, the 19th MDG coach. "We wanted to get into their heads a little bit, early, with double teams and quick ball movement on the offensive side and fortunately we were successful at that tonight."

As the buzzer sounded and the players headed toward their respective benches for the half, the scoreboard read 34-24, 19th MDG.

"If the scoreboard wasn't on, you would think you guys are up by at least twenty," one fan said as the medics came to their bench at the half.

The players laughed. They were dominating on every front even though they had still left points on the court.

As the second half of the game began the medics seemed to change the philosophy of their offense. They switched to a more time possession, physical game, feeding their big men in the paint.

With continued success in the lane, thanks to Senior Airman Brent Ford, the maintainers grew weary of the physical domination at the post position; they started to show obvious signs of fatigue, eventually becoming lackadaisical with their defense, getting called for reaching fouls again and again.

The effectiveness of the big boy play was too much for the maintainers, and it had taken its toll on them. This undoubtedly put the finishing touches on the 314th, and eventually put the medics in the bonus.

Finally the hinges came off for the maintainers as they would only score three points in the last two-and-a-half minutes of play.

The final score 63-52, 19th MDG.