If the first day of the 2015 DODDS Europe Division II boys basketball tournament is anything to go from, this truly could be anybody’s chance to be crowned champion.

It could be No. 8 seed AFNORTH who clobbered top-seeded Aviano 49-33 in an early game. Except Aviano acquitted themselves nicely against Black Forest Academy, winning in an overtime nail biter 37-36. Then BFA handily beat Ansbach, who in turn beat AFNORTH.

It would be a fool’s gamble to try to pick a champion from among the pool of potentials right now. But after one incredibly long day of basketball, there is at least one team that has set themselves up as one to beat.

It’s Italian-based American Overseas School of Rome, a team coached by 17-year veteran Phil Davis and powered by sophomore Otis Reale.

Reale isn’t the sole reason the Falcons beat Bitburg and Bahrain, but it’s fair to say that without his high-octane offense, the team would be much, much different.

He scored 33 points in the early game against the Barons in a 49-39 victory and then 31 in the 54-27 win over Bahrain. In one day of basketball, he scored more than most players will tally for the entire tournament.

There is a reason for that.

“I’ve been preparing for this my whole life,” he explained. “Performance has to be consistent, it doesn’t matter what is happening. You have to have the right mentality.”

Davis said his team has the tools to go the distance, but wasn’t ready to feel comfortable as favorites just yet. Especially after what he considered to be a poor start against Bitburg.

“We struggled a bit, but that doesn’t matter,” Davis said. “We got to be ready to play. We got those jitters calmed down just in time. Bitburg is a good team, you can’t play sloppy and win. If we can keep calm, lord willing, we’ll be able to play Saturday.”

The Bitburg team Davis spoke so highly of had a solid showing against a Rota squad with a nice Hollywood ending attached to it.

With the game tied and only 3 seconds left on the clock in overtime, Bitburg’s Kevin Morrison was fouled and sent to the free throw line. Under pressure he made not one, but both of his shots to put the game away.

“I was really nervous,” he said. “But I knew that my team was depending on me. I’m so happy I was able to pull through for them.”

Bitburg is one of nine teams at 1-1 after the first day. Each of those teams showed flashes of brilliance, from Hohenfels’ crushing offense, to BFA’s stifling defense.

All of them have the tools to take it all and there is still a lot of basketball to play.

GirlsOn the girl’s side, things are a bit easier to divine. Defending champion Black Forest Academy is the clear and present danger, as it decimated Ansbach 52-12 and easily beat AFNORTH 39-12. With those wins, they’ve already clinched their spot in Friday’s semifinals. Bitburg split with the Falcons during the regular season and mercy ruled both of its opponents Wednesday in ugly fashion: Rota (40-4) and Bahrain (40-0).

Who will join them in the semifinals will depend entirely on who comes prepared to play. Not every team could claim that on Wednesday.

Much like on the boys side, the first day was marred with sloppy play and some poor execution. Not even the better teams were immune from this curse, including AFNORTH, which looked stellar in one game and tired in the second.

“We stunk the court up,” AFNORTH coach D.C. McDonald said. “I’ll take the win any way I can take it, but we stunk. We play really hard and aggressive and we’re able to get into the right positions, but we’re not making the plays we should.”

The victors were, without fail, the teams able to overcome mistakes. An example was the first game between Rota and Aviano. Neither team looked quite ready, with sloppy play on both sides. The Admirals weren’t even able to match Aviano’s anemic two-point first quarter.

That changed in the second quarter. Rota came to life, thanks in part to the quiet confidence of Jamica Barnes, who said she wouldn’t let the team get upset at their slow start. Barnes had herself a solid enough game, scoring 10 points. But her biggest contribution was lighting a fire under her team’s feet.

“I’m the energy setter for the rest of the team,” she said. “We know we’re the underdog and that’s fine. I want our team to show them that just because we’re the bottom rung, we’re not going to be easy. We’re here to play.”

Most of the other games in the girls brackets were blowouts. Hohenfels shredded Bahrain 31-10, BFA rolled over Ansbach 52-12 and AFNORTH surprised everybody with a convincing win over the strong AOSR squad, 36-19.

Still, as one AFNORTH player mentioned, most teams still have a shot.

“Nobody really considers us a contender,” Lion point guard Grace Phillips said. “We were worried because we knew we needed to win to continue and we’ve seen Bitburg, we know them. We’re a strong team – I feel like we’re the silent contenders. We just show up and play.”

Darnell.michael@stripes.com

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