With A Little Help From His Friends

If one listened carefully last Saturday, they may have heard a gentle thud as the Wahluke Eagles nudged Prosser Heat 30-27 in a close game. Two monkeys fell off the back of the Wahluke Eagles, the first was the string of eight losses and the second was a the inability to stave off an opponents comeback.

The Eagles started strong but the ball couldn't find the hoop. Prosser too had trouble and at the end of the first Wahluke lead by one. The offensive drought continued into the second quarter as well but at the start of the third, the Heat got hot. Prosser stormed ahead to roughly a seven point lead. Oscar looked frustrated as all his effort and hustle was coming to naught once again. The other players on the court began to falter as well as it looked like the Eagles were doomed once again. Then with a little help from his friends, things began to change.

It started when Oscar was fouled and had two free throws. He missed them both but then a quick thinking Alan (Big Daddy) pounced on the rebound and did a weak side lay-in to score. Two quick points with a great deal of symbolism attached. Previously, Oscar carried the load as the spark with his constant hustle and the responsibility of being the distributor of the ball and when things got tough the burden of his role wore him down. And when Oscar went down, often times no one took his place. Other experienced and talented players would want to be taken out of close games in the fourth quarter rather than give it all and risk coming up short. After all it hurts to do all you can and loose. But this time the team was committed and when Oscar's shots went cold, his teammates kept us in it.

With three minutes left in the game the floodgates opened. In the span of one minute the Eagles went from being five points down to two points up. The turn around game because all the players did their job. Oscar, Gabino, and Eduardo kept tough full court press, stole balls, trapped the opponents, and forced bad passes. Alan seized errant balls and got them into the shooters hand. And Dario (Big D) sprinted down the court to make the rebounds that gave our players second looks.

Prosser never gave up and fought well to the end. With one second left, they had the ball at the far end of the court. Our defense was ready as Prosser inbounded the ball but they were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded. The players, fans, and coaches were all smiles as we earned our first win of the long Winter season. After the game, we enjoyed homemade tamales courtesy of Big Daddy's mom and savoured what hard work, team work, and discipline can accomplish.

Alan (1o points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals) Dario (7 rebounds, 4 steals), Eduardo (2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals),Gabino (3 rebounds, 2 steals), Jesus (1 steal), Librado (2 rebounds), Oscar (18 points, 2 rebounds, 5 steals)