A trip and a very nasty bout with the flu had me sidelined for three weeks. In the meantime, the team had some exciting wins against Grecia and Barva, putting us on top of the standings.
Last Tuesday we traveled to San Ramon for our showdown with the defending champ. In my early years in the league, the toughest road venue was Limon. A hot, humid gym a stone's throw away from the ocean. Their crowds were not only into the game, but also very knowledgeable about hoops. And back then, they had some great teams. Just a tough place to play. Now that they're out of the league, the reigning title of toughest place to play has become San Ramon. Their administration has done an excellent job of drawing crowds to their gym; games in San Ramon feel like real basketball games and not glorified exhibitions.
San Ramon came out of the gate quickly, attacking the basket. In the first five minutes they jumped out to an eight point lead. Some defensive stops on our part led to some buckets and we quickly erased the lead. The rest of the second half was a back-and-forth affair. Michael Jackson and Nino Williams were trading big baskets. Isaac Conejo converted a three point play at the end of the first half,
reducing our lead to one point.
Nick Leon came alive in the third quarter from the outside with Michael continuing to make some tough baskets. Out lead swelled to nine points as Jorge Arguello called a time out to settle his guys. San Ramon turned up the defensive intensity, switching around their assignments. Slowly but surely, they whittled out lead behind baskets from Giorgio Milligan and Jefney Anderson. With forty seconds to go, Jerson Harris putback an offensive rebound giving San Ramon its first lead of the half. Michael Jackson scored a quick basket to take back the lead. Niño Williams scored the go-ahead basket for San Ramon on the ensuing play. On our final half court possession, we had a lapse in execution and despite corralling San Ramon's final miss, we were unable to get a last shot up.
Notes
-Michael Jackson led out scoring with 32 points with Nick Leon scoring 22.
-Nino Williams led the San Ramon scoring with 22 points. Isaac Conejo had 18 points and eight assists.
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