KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The intramural basketball trophy was hoisted Friday by a team that began the campaign with a vision: a championship or nothing. The 377th CPTS/FSS team achieved that goal March 21, with a 49-38 victory over SFS Jones.
According to one of the team’s key recruiters and small forward Staff Sgt. JD Strong II, with the talent they put together and the attitude of the club’s members, they could only aim for the top. Strong, a member of the Wing Staff Agencies, included other WSA talent in his search for players.
“I had come off losing seasons with other teams, and I went [searching] within our squadrons and went for not only the most talented players, but those who would buy into a system,” Strong said. “With a team as talented as we had, everyone could have had an ego, but not a single person did. I knew we had an excellent chance to win, I told everybody we were going to win--and people said otherwise, as they should have--but there was no way they could contend with our speed, power and size, most importantly our basketball IQ.”
The team’s regular season performance was consistent with their objective. CPTS/FSS went 8-1, winning their last six games. LE, however, was equally ambitious, going 6-3. In fact, LE dealt the CPTS/FSS/WSA team their only loss, beating them 56-44 Jan. 15. The teams met three times in the regular season, with CPTS/FSS/WSA taking the remaining two matches, 53-52 Feb. 5 and 54-51 Feb. 26.
Strong had nothing but respect for the SFS Jones team, composed primarily of Law Enforcement troops, and knew a championship meeting would be tough.
“They were the defending champions--an excellent team--comprised of greet shooters, with the best point guard in the league in Staff Sgt. [Craig] Lackey—you can never take a moment off with them. The moment you let up they made you pay the price,” Strong said.
The championship game had a defensive focus throughout, with the 86 combined total their lowest combined tally of the four matchups. The teams has posted 100 or more combined points in the three regular season meetings. CPTS/FSS led by two at the half, 22-20. SFS Jones had plenty of defensive stops in the first half, but failed to capitalize on the other end of the floor.
CPTS/FSS power forward Airman 1st Class Ricky Jackson was ready for a tough game.
“I knew it was going to be close, playing a team like Lackey and [SFS Jones], you’re playing a team that’s experience, that’s championship proven,” Jackson said. ”They won previous year, so you know you are going to get their best shot. You have to be ready to compete on both ends of the floor, for 40 minutes.”
Jackson did compete. His 15 rebounds and 16 points anchored an all-around effort from CPTS/FSS.
Jackson’s emphatic dunk with 7:10 remaining in the second half put his team up by a 39-30 margin, and staked a claim to the title.
“I figured it would be a statement and would tell the other team that we were taking control from that point,” Jackson said. “It was a great screen by Capt. [Jeremy] Driggs.
Jackson cited all his teammates for making the championship possible. Some were dominant figures like center Johnny Harris (11 pts., six rebounds in the final), to role players like Driggs, who was always ready with a pick or a long-range jumper.
SFS Jones was led by guard Airman 1st Class swingman Jose Rios with 12 pts. In addition to Lackey, the Jackson cited Rios as another force to content with all season long.
“You have to keep Rios off the glass, his offensive rebounding gives them a lot of second chance opportunities. He’s very essential to wining their rebound and possession game, and Lackey is their best scorer. He’s not someone you can stop, but only hope to contain,” Jackson said.
In the end, CPTS/FSS came out on top.
“Feels amazing. It feels amazing,” Jackson said.
Commanders Cup status:
As of March 25, and with the conclusion of intramural basketball, SFS (who took the flag football crown) leads the Commanders Cup standings with six pts. AFRL is second (after placing near the top in several competitions) with three points.