Cougars show grit in Division II Euro finals

By David Ruderman, IMCOMMarch 5, 2013

usa image
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WIESBADEN, Germany- The Vicenza High School Cougars basketball squad made the trek to Wiesbaden, Germany, last weekend and fought their way to a third place finish in the DoDDS-Europe Basketball Finals.

The Cougars lost a semi-final heartbreaker to AFNORTH, 46-45, but held themselves together, bouncing back to beat the SHAPE squad 78-40 to take a more than respectable third-place finish in Division II play.

"We lost by one point to the eventual champs, AFNORTH," said coach Eric Wakefield. "We just couldn't get that one basket."

But the Cougars can hold their heads high, Wakefield said.

"It's not about wins and losses, it's about taking care of business and stepping up to the plate; about being able to look each other in the eye knowing you did the best you could under the circumstances," he said.

With only one senior departing and the possibility of new arrivals, Wakefield said the Cougars may be able to build on one of their best seasons in memory in the year ahead.

"We should be ready for next season," he said.

In addition to their regular 12-game season, which they concluded with an 11-1 record, the Cougar squad got a lot of experience on the court this season with play against Italian teams, and even a Croatian team, that broadened their experience and raised their level of play, Wakefield said.

The Cougars played a total of 10 games against Italian clubs in the Veneto region, including an under-19 Venice squad that feeds players into the professional Italian basketball recruitment organizations.

The Cougars also played a round-robin three-way match with Aviano High School and a very good Croatian team that helped them stretch their envelopes, both individually and as a team, Wakefield said.

"Those games helped our kids realize there's always a tomorrow," he said.

In DoDDS-Europe Cheerleading championship competition, the Cougar Winter Cheer Squad put their best feet forward Feb. 23 in Wiesbaden as well.

"The dancing was phenomenal; the stunting part, they could have done better," said coach Annette Allen.

Junior and team co-captain Alexis Camuso was recognized with the individual All-Tournament award, but the squad as a whole couldn't manage to crack the winner's circle.

"We did really well," said Allen. "They had a lot of practices; however, we could have practiced more on the weekends when we started. We only got that in toward the end of the season. It takes a lot of practice. It did work out in the end," Allen said.