The U21 team took on Brazil on Monday trying to keep our hopes of a semi-final bid alive. It turned out to be one for the ages.
I could tell you that our boys came out fired up and ready to play. But that would be a lie. Because they came out like a bunch of sissies and dug themselves a 5 point deficit at the end of 1, and 16 at the end of 2. Shane Bowens hit his first three shots in a row, and in a fit of excitement, began shooting every time he touched the ball, including several fullcourt shots after grabbing defensive rebounds. Fewmit frustratedly benched him, where he continued to shoot warm-up balls onto the court, drawing several technical fouls. In a stunning turn of events, Juan Lewis defected to the Brazilian team in the second quarter and threw the American side into utter chaos. Reed Purdy, unsure of who to trust anymore, decided the best thing to do would be to play keep-away from the rest of the team. After 16 straight travelling calls, he was also benched.
I could tell you that Fewmit gave a rousing halftime speech, but I wasn't there. I was at a nearby abandoned building with several American fans collecting bricks and assembling molotov cocktails for the riot scheduled for immediately after the impending loss. But perhaps Fewmit did give the speech of a lifetime, or perhaps the young Americans realized that if bricks started flying, they might be the first to be dropped. For whatever reason, they woke up and began playing the basketball we expect from our heros in the third quarter. With 4 minutes left in the game, they had miraculously built a 5 point lead! The outside trio of Purdy, Weems, and Vargas put on a passing clinic that even the great Ayrton Senna, who was not in attendance, would have been impressed by. Their ball movement was so impressive, they managed to trick Lewis into scoring for America on five separate occasions!! They even held Bowens in check with an ingenious strategy of placing cookies in the paint, and bouncing the ball off his back and into the hoop as he bent to pick up the cookie.
The Brazilians bounced back to take a three point lead with nine seconds to go. But our boys were not to be denied. With time winding down, Purdy sank a three to tie the game up! I wish the story ended there....
The crowd went wild, and so did American big man Gary Acker. He ran to the first person he saw and picked them up and threw them into the air. That person was Brazilian center Jorge Periqueto, who happened to be attempting a game winning shot at the time. He was sent to the line with no time on the clock and sank his first FT to end the game.....
A hard fought season comes to what is essentially an end. But join us next week anyways as we take on the Italians in a nothing to lose final game. We still have Molotov Cocktails left. Dont show up. I dare you.