Armed Forces Basketball tournament comes to a close on Pendleton
By Cpl. Shaltiel Dominguez
| Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton | November 14, 2014
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. --
The Air Force Men’s and Army Women’s basketball teams took
first place to conclude the Armed Forces Basketball Championship held at the
Paige Fieldhouse, Nov 13.
During
the finals, the Air Force Men’s Team (5-2) proved their mettle by beating the
Army Men’s (5-2) 86-78 to take first place, while the Army Women’s Team (7-0) beat
the Air Force Women’s (3-4) 71-55 to bring home the gold.
Over the past week, 72 service members from the All Marine,
Navy, Army and Air Force basketball Men and Women’s teams competed in the
inter-service challenge in a round-robin style tournament to determine the
championship bout.
“This is the eighth year in a row we are taking home the
victory,” said Ricardo A. Bachelor, coach for the Air Force Men’s team. “I keep
telling my team, ‘It’s in our pedigree, and the secret to our pedigree lies in
hard work and attitude over talent.’”
Col. Jeff K. Arruda, chief-of-staff, Marine Corps
Installations West - Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, awarded the victors and
outstanding players with medals during
the event’s closing ceremony and encouraged the players to continue pursuing
their athletic passion.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase Camp Pendleton and
develop camaraderie,” said Arruda. “Through the tournament we’re able to foster
healthy competition and enjoy some inter-service rivalry and bragging rights
for the winning teams.”
The best players and coaches from the different services
will be chosen to represent the United States at the international level during the Du Sport Militaire
Championship in Belgium in 2015.
“It was a long week and despite our struggles, we really
came together as a team to pull off the victory,” said Todd Fletcher, who
competed for the Air Force Men’s Team and who was selected to compete in
Belgium. “I’m excited to go to Belgium. It’s going to be fun and hopefully we
can represent by getting another gold medal.”
Armed Forces Basketball