By Sameria Zavala
Womack Army Medical Center Public Affairs
WEST POINT, N.Y. (June 21, 2016) – Walking into Arvin Gym, the smell of burnt rubber filled the air as two teams battled it out for the gold medal. Team Army came out on top in style against Team Marine Corps during the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., June 21.
Team Army made it to the wheelchair basketball championship game with convincing wins over the Air Force, Special Operations Command and the United Kingdom Armed Forces.
During the first half of the final game the determination to win was just as high as the sportsmanship both teams displayed during a foul or a collision resulting in a tumble to the floor.
At the end of the first half, Team Army had already taken a commanding lead, 31-16.
The first half scoring was led by U.S. Army Veteran Staff Sgt. Alexander Shaw with 8 points, but the offensive play that got the crowd pumped was a 3 pointer at the buzzer by U.S. Army Veteran Sgt. Jhoonar Barrera. Chants of “let’s go Army, lets’ go,” rang throughout the crowd.
Team Army was so pumped, they performed a half time show with a Samoan Haka dance, led by U.S. Army Veteran David Iuli, to keep the crowd hyped. That momentum carried over into the second half.
They continued their domination causing turnovers and controlling the offensive glass, which led to a second half blowout with the final score being 62-23.
Rodney Williams, head coach for Team Army, was pleased with the outcome of the game.
“We had with pretty good control in this final round; we were down to eight players, since some of our players weren’t able to play this round,” Williams said. “The spirit of my athletes is just tremendous. Our best play was just the hustle up and down the court, guarding, making the right reads and making tremendous defensive plays that set off our transition offense.”
“We were unstoppable today,” said Williams. “One of our standout players was (Spc.) Sydney Davis, who will be going to the University of Texas at Arlington to play wheelchair basketball next year. She showed what she could do and impressed a lot of people today,” said Williams.
Other Team Army members included: Veteran Spc. Dustin Barr, Veteran Sgt. Blake Johnson, Veteran Spc. Donnell Lewis, Veteran Sgt. Delvin Matson, Spc. Stephanie Morris, and 1st Lt. Christopher Parks.
What a feat for Team Army to win the gold. Team Marine Corps was a formidable opponent who gave it their all and fell short today.