8th CES defeats 8th FSS 49-42 for basketball championship title

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Sabrina A. Johnson
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  The 8th Civil Engineer Squadron defeated the 8th Force Support Squadron 49-42 to win the intramural basketball championship March 1, 2013, at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea.

While each team battled for victory, supporters cheered for their team.

"If you look at the score board it's 24-21 in our favor. The game is going back and forth, it's a very defensive game, and defense wins championships, we want to do our very best to pull out a win," said Roberto Rodriguez III, 8th FSS coach. "We got in early foul trouble with a couple of our players, but we are going to settle down."

During the first half the 8th FSS team led by more than 8 points, but the strong defense of both teams led to a low scoring game at the half.

"It's a close game. Both teams are pretty tired, but whoever plays the best defensive game will win," said Steven Woodard, 8th CES coach, during a halftime interview.

As the second half kicked off, 8th CES closed the gap as Ronnie Armstrong, power forward, completed a lay-up, providing a crucial turning point in the game and putting the team in the lead 34-33.

"We had it; it was a good game. We both came out competitive and gave it our all but we couldn't pull it out and it was fun playing amongst friends, said Xavier "Savage" Adams, who scored 18 points for the 8th FSS team.

For Armstrong, the contributing factor to his team's success over 8 FSS was a team effort.

"We started off slow and had to try to keep up with the other team because they kept driving and penetrating our defense," said Armstrong . "We had to come up with a plan to stop what they had going "and to motivate each other, because tonight was a big game and we hadn't lost one since the playoffs started."

According to the 8th CES coach, the two teams share a healthy squadron competition everywhere they go, regardless if it's at the dining facility, fitness center, during physical training, or at the Loring club.

"We've always had a rivalry but it's all in good fun. It ended up being a close game both teams fought hard, but CE prevailed in the end," Woodard said.