The Bombers got their first two victories on the road at the 2013 Portland Pounders Invitational. In the first game of the tournament against British Columbia - B we won 39-37. A huge improvement against the same team that beat us in September 45 - 27... We started using the T defense right from the start and it worked well. We were ahead by 5 at the half and then made some substitutions to get everyone some court time. BC then gained a bit of momentum and got back in the game. We made some adjustments and regained control till the last 2 minutes where we lost a few key turnovers and they brought the game within 1 point. We took a bench time out and settled down and finished the game up 2 points! It was nice to get our first win in the books.
The Second game was against Portland B, a team we have played against several time since we have started but have never beat. We came out strong right away and never looked back. We won the game 39-28.
We had a drag out battle in the third game against Phoenix B which had a mix of some of Portland B players too. We had a rough start being in the hole 7-2 but we battled right back to the top up by three in the third to literally throw it away with bad passes in the final two minutes of the game to lose by 3. It was a great game, probably the hardest fought of the tournament for our team.
Sunday's final game against Seattle's A team looked pretty good in the books even though we lost by 11. But the first quarter was a nightmare against the big 3.0 Paul Waston, he had his team up 9-2 by the end of the quarter. They subbed in their bench and we gained ground pretty quick. At half they threw back in their starters and got the big lead right back. But again the 11 point loss looked way better than when we played them in September and lost 59-33.
This tournament was really fun, we worked well as a team for the first time in a real game. We had a guest player with us #18 Tim Vixay, a 1.0 with some great experience. He helped us with some game strategy and really increased our communication on the court and from the bench. I think this tournament was a key turning point for our team. Everyone was permanently classified to play except Tracy and Willie who could not make the trip. Our next trip is going to be in Texas February 8,9,and 10 to play against my old team!
By Spencer Larimore
Click here to see more photos of the event!
The Second game was against Portland B, a team we have played against several time since we have started but have never beat. We came out strong right away and never looked back. We won the game 39-28.
We had a drag out battle in the third game against Phoenix B which had a mix of some of Portland B players too. We had a rough start being in the hole 7-2 but we battled right back to the top up by three in the third to literally throw it away with bad passes in the final two minutes of the game to lose by 3. It was a great game, probably the hardest fought of the tournament for our team.
Sunday's final game against Seattle's A team looked pretty good in the books even though we lost by 11. But the first quarter was a nightmare against the big 3.0 Paul Waston, he had his team up 9-2 by the end of the quarter. They subbed in their bench and we gained ground pretty quick. At half they threw back in their starters and got the big lead right back. But again the 11 point loss looked way better than when we played them in September and lost 59-33.
This tournament was really fun, we worked well as a team for the first time in a real game. We had a guest player with us #18 Tim Vixay, a 1.0 with some great experience. He helped us with some game strategy and really increased our communication on the court and from the bench. I think this tournament was a key turning point for our team. Everyone was permanently classified to play except Tracy and Willie who could not make the trip. Our next trip is going to be in Texas February 8,9,and 10 to play against my old team!
By Spencer Larimore
Click here to see more photos of the event!