MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Fil-Am took down the Ready Group after two periods of play during the semi-final basketball game at IronWorks Gym here June 17.
The final score read 19-18 in favor of Fil-Am when the game was called with just 46.2 seconds left in the first half due to a third technical foul.
The Ready Group, received the first technical early on and Jayson Tangco, guard for Fil-Am, took the foul shots.
The second technical foul was called on the Ready Group once again when they tried to dispute a call the referee made when the ball went out of bounds.
Drevonn Fluellen, point guard for Fil-Am, and Paul Torres, wing for the Ready Group, were both going for the ball as it went out of bounds.
The loose ball went out of play where the official clearly made his judgment on the play in favor of Fil-Am.
With 46.2 seconds left on the clock, another referee noticed a player with the Ready Group had shorts with pockets, which is considered an equipment safety violation and against game regulations.
This earned the Ready Group their third and final technical foul.
Due to the three technical rule, the Ready Group was forced to forfeit the game, which guaranteed Fil-Am a shot at the championships.
“I hate that we won the game like that,” said Jimmie King, power forward for Fil-Am. “But you gotta play by the rules.”
Both teams have done exceptionally well during the intramural basketball playoffs pulling victories out of close games.
The Ready Group entered the semifinals after they defeated the Goon Squad in the first game of the playoffs 49-36 and went on to stop the Sho Stoppaz 55-34 in the quarter-finals.
Fil-Am was also doing well through out the tournament. Fil-Am defeated the IYAOYAS 36-25 during the playoffs, advancing to the quarter finals where they would go up against Da FAM.
“We came together as a team, came out and hustled,” said King.
Even though the IYAOYAS put up a good fight, Fil-Am was able to tighten their defense and keep them from scoring.
“We played excellent defense,” said Fluellen. “They could not stop our defense.”
Fil-Am went on to defeat Da-FA M 39- 31 during the quarter finals.
“It was close the whole game but we ended up taking it,” said King.
“They played tough during the first half but during the second half, we stepped up our game,” said Jordan Kroell.
Now, with one more win against the Ready Group, Fil-Am has secured their spot in the championship game against the Sho Stoppaz Monday.