Finishing Strong

Well, we were able to finish off the season strong today by winning in overtime, 93-85 over Darussafaka. We would have ended up in the playoffs either way, but we didn’t know that while we played the game! And either way, it is always good to win your way into the playoffs. Thankfully, we were able to do just that, winning our last 5 out of 6 games. That definitely feels good.

I had a very strong first quarter with 13 points. I slumped a bit in the third quarter, but was able to finish strong in overtime especially. I ended up with 23 points and 10 assists, shooting 7-11 from the field. It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was one of my better ones.  And interestingly enough, I played the game in a fresh pair of basketball shoes that I had to purchase about an hour and a half before, because I forgot my normal pair on the bus last night.  I forgot to tell our team manager last night, so when I finally told him today, the bus was 400 kilometers away!  I was glad to have a good game for him after giving him such a headache with that….

Now it is off to play the first place team in the first round of the playoffs. We will probably play game two this coming weekend. And that’s right, I did say game two. Because we are already down 1-0 before we even played a game! For some reason, they have a rule that if you lost to the team during the season two times (and you play each team twice), then they are given the first game of the playoff series. Yes, I agree that it is absolute nonsense. But it is the rule….at least for now!

Needless to say, there will be a great deal of pressure to win that second game. But I am hopeful that we can make a strong showing. Either way, it has been great to see the team come together during these last six games. It has been a pleasure.

Enjoying the game,
Joe