Last week's game was an instant classic for Aussie hoops fans. To sum it up quickly, we lost by three in triple overtime to the Tracy Village Jets in a memorable back-and-forth battle.
The Jets are currently undefeated and in first place. We had plenty of opportunities to hand them their first loss, but didn't finish the job. At one point we were up by 3 in the second overtime when they had a player (who hadn't hit a three in two seasons) bank in a transition three pointer at the buzzer to send it to a third extra session, where they eventually made more shots than us and earned the victory. It was quite an eventful game. I also cracked my head open during the game taking a charge on a player much bigger than myself. It all happened so quickly that I don't know exactly what caused my head to crack. While I found it quite annoying that my head was bleeding for two days (I didn't want to go to the hospital to stitch it up), the fortunate aspect of the situation is that the charge call went my way.
The same player who I took the charge on eventually got tossed from the game for shoving a player on our team and picking up his second technical foul. Referees are not slow to give tech's out here. I haven't been hit with a "T," but one thing I learned quickly is that I better keep my mouth shut.
The officiating was pretty poor that game. Both teams seemed to get screwed over at inopportune moments. We had to do our best to ignore what the refs were doing and pay more attention to the weapons on the other team. Because they had some weapons.
They had two point guards who played on the court at the same time. Both were very similar to myself, in that they are small, quick guards who look to facilitate on offense and apply pressure on defense. I had fun battling with them, and managed to have a pretty successful night individually. I scored 21 points and dished out 12 assists in all. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for a victory.
They guy who led the Jets to the W was a 6'7 lengthy forward who had a game similar to that of Dirk. He could post up, and did so a lot. But where he preferred to play was on the perimeter, where he dropped at least three deep balls on us. We struggled to slow him down, and in the end, his offensive production proved costly and contributed to us taking a loss.
The second of these three games is one I prefer not to write much about, for the mere fact that I choked near the game's closing. Our team struggled from the free throw line the entire game. We missed twelve foul shots just in the first half. I missed one for the game. But that one happened to be the biggest one of all. In a game where we were up by as many as 9 in the third quarter, we once again failed to finish, and I take most of the blame for that.
We were down by two when I drove the lane and got tripped up trying to finish at the hoop with 4.5 seconds left. A foul was called, and I was sent to the line. Down 2. 4.5 seconds left. Who doesn't want that pressure? I am a very confident free throw shooter, and love moments like that. I hit the first free throw as the ball didn't touch the rim. I had a chance to tie the game, but missed the second.
There's really no other way to put it other than that I choked. I don't even remember how it missed. I'm not sure if it bounced right, went in and out, was short, or what. It's all a blur to me. I let my team down. We lost by a single point. Missing free throws is one thing I hate, but letting your team down is a much worse feeling. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to cope with it long because we had a game the following night.
That game, like the other two, was also a one possession game in the final seconds. We played the Lightning, a team with a balanced attack led by a big red head who formerly played for the Melbourne Tigers (a NBL team in Southern Australia). They had more size than us but Jermaine and Jacob did a nice job covering their bigs, and for the most part we held their shooters in check as well. It was an ugly game, in which neither team played very well. But I guess we were a little less ugly and found a way to pull out a close win as they missed a three at the buzzer which would have sent it to OT. I had a decent, yet fairly quiet night offensively scoring 9, and dishing for 6 assists. I played well on defense, grabbing a few steals and forcing an 8-second half-court violation with some full court ball pressure. Overall, I played okay. Our team played okay at best. It wasn't a pretty win, but nevertheless it felt good to come out on top.
Our team started the year 2-0, then lost 3 straight, and now hope to build this victory into a much longer win streak. Currently at 3-3, we are at a place where we need to start winning on a more consistent basis. We have the talent and work ethic to do it. The biggest key for us Rebels right now is to get healthy. If we put everybody on the floor in the same game, we should be able to beat anybody. Now, it's just a matter of doing it.
After our latest win, a few of us went to a Filipino festival and then to a Filipino friend's birthday party. Darwin is on the northern coast of Australia, therefore it is the closest of all the big Australian cities to the Philippines. As a result, it's a city that is home to not only a great number of Filipinos, but also a wide variety of other ethnic backgrounds as well. Darwin is quite the cultural melting pot, which is one thing I love about the area. I've met numerous people from all over the world in my short time here so far. I've also booked a trip to Bali, Indonesia from late September to early October because our league takes a week off from games. So perhaps in that week I'll make some Indonesian friends as well. 
I also plan on taking a second trip in early to mid December before I fly back to the U.S. for Christmas. As of right now, my options include Cairns (where the Great Barrier Reef is located) and Sydney, Australia, as well as Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, or Malaysia. I've never been to any of these areas, so I'm open to any and all suggestions of those who might know more about them than I. 
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