Teamwork and offensive rebounds helps KEC Krew destroy Believe
By Duc Le, KEC Krew Beat Reporter
It’s been a nice day, the weather has been really good as the sun was shining, and the sky couldn’t be bluer. And here we are, in the basketball courts of Timberhill Athletic Center, watching a historic KEC Krew basketball game. Yes, you read it right, today marks the establishment of this KEC Krew game report, funded with 3 bottles of beer and 2 buritos, thanks to the generosity of Bill Gates. Today we are wearing red, and the other team is wearing white.
It’s been two minutes since the game started, and Alan Fern had already scored 4 points, as he usually does, dominating the glass and towering over his opponents. Following him are David and Jun, who combine to score 3 more points. What an amazing beginning for the team in red.
The scoring of both teams slow and at the 7 minute mark the score is 9-2. The Krew is doing really well in this game, particularly on the defensive end of the court. One of our opponents dribbled around, trying to drive to the basket. He was met by a wall of defenders and had to pull back and throw up a shot. The posture, the angle, the momentum – everything was right about the shot. The only thing that was wrong is that it missed the basket. Jun grabbed the rebound and streaks down the court Instead of shooting, he passes it to Chris, who was cutting down the middle of the lane. Chris was fouled shooting and made one of two free throws. Pretty good job Chris!
Later in the first half the other team had the ball. They tried to pass the ball around to scatter KEC Krew’s “concrete” defensive system. After a while, one guy tried to shoot, but was cut short by an amazing block by David. They were able to retain possession of the ball and one guy grabs the ball, drives down the lane and tosses up a desperation shot. The ball drops right into the basket. What a shot! It was really nice effort. But, that was a travelling foul, and the shot was negated, which frustrated the team even more.
The KEC Krew is doing really well. Jun has the ball, drives towards the basket and pretends to shoot but actually passes it to David. With all his Polish pride, David took the ball and nicely places it into the basket without shedding any sweat.
The dominance continues and later on offense, Eric was holding the ball. He fakes a shot and then throws a bounce pass to Jeremy, who turns around and quickly passes the ball to Rob. With all the experience and confidence of a CGE president, Rob stands calmly at the 3 point line and, slowly, he takes a 3 pointer. The ball swished through the net. What a shot.
As we were on fire, the other team began to get really physical. In one sequence Chris was pushed onto his back chasing after the ball and Rob was crawling on the court and trying to pull the ball from the other team. They eventually got the ball and Jeremy was forced to foul into prevent a fast break.
With 23 seconds left in the first half, a furious combination happened with the ball whipping from Eric to Alan to Jun and resulting in 2 points and a five point lead, 25-20, for the Krew. Unfortunately, a the other team came down quickly and threw up a 3 that banked it as time expired, leaving the halftime score 25-23
In the second half, the defense got much better, particularly in the early minutes as the Krew got several steals and forced many poor shots. On the offensive end, Alan’s size began to become a factor, garnering many offensive rebounds, resulting in easy put backs or more offensive opportunities. With the defensive intensity picking up, this led to easy points. With 7 minutes gone in the half, Rob blocked a shot and several plays later Jun followed suit. These blocks led to easy run outs and lay-ups for the Krew.
The other team seemed confused about how to attack the zone, and they were just passing the ball around a lot. The ball was finally thrown into the block, but Alan was waiting. He stood like the greatwall in front of him and the guy in white could do nothing but turn the ball over. Nice defense, Alan.
While the shooting continued to be streaky, the defense continued to be stingy. Eric stole the ball from their point guard and streaked towards the basket, attempting a lay-up, which missed. He was able to get the rebound, but missed the putback. Alan grabbed the miss, and again missed. This was kind of unlucky but OK. We are doing so well today.
Jeremy is on fire today. Besides being a really good defender, he is really active in the center of the court. Once in a while, he grabs the ball and takes a shot and gets a three point easily.
With two minutes left in the game, we are up by 20, but the boys in white are coming back. They hit two 3 pointers in a row, but not a problem. Jeremy kills their enthusiasm by softly putting the ball in the basket. Then Jun takes over, scoring 5 quick points, giving the boys in white no hope for revenge.
Final score: 66-43. Crazy game today, The crowd here at Timberhill Athletic center is on their feet and I have never heard it this loud before. They are chanting for their heroes. This is a day that will not soon be forgotten!
