Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Big Road Trip

Good afternoon everyone! I am finally back in Gravelines after a week of being on the road. First we played in a mid-season tournament for the Top 8 teams in our French League called the "Week of Aces." We ended up winning the tournament and I officially have my first professional championship! It was an amazing feeling celebrating on the floor after the game. We ended up playing 3 games in 4 days in order to win the tournament. We played Chalon in the championship game with the score being 79-71! We had 3 guys in double figures. Yannick Bokolo came away with the MVP scoring 23 points and 5 rebounds, Cyril had 19 points. I almost had a triple double with 17 points (4-8 2FG, 1-5 3FG, 6-6 FT), 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. It was a wonderful experience and I feel extremely blessed in winning my first championship as a pro!

After winning the championship of the Week of Aces, the next day we took and early flight to Sweden to play a game in the EuroChallenge. We ended up winning 94-87, which means that we are going to qualify for the Top 8 of EuroChallenge. We are 4-0 in our group and in 1st place. First place and second place both move on into the Top 8. It was a rough start for us at the beginning of the game. You could definitely tell that the traveling over the past 5-6 days was catching up to us. However we stuck together and pulled away in the second half. We had 4 guys scoring in double digits. Cyril had 24 points, Yannick had 12, Jeff Greer had 11. I had 21 points (3-8 2FG, 3-3 3FG, 6-8 FT) 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. It was quite the road trip for us men at BCM, however it was well worth it. Coming away with a championship and qualifying for the Top 8 in EuroChallenge, definitely makes the long road trip a lot more pleasant. Time to do some relaxing! God Bless (Joshua 1:9)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Good road win

Happy Sunday everyone! Well I got back this morning from our road game at 7:45am. We bused back after the game and it took seven and a half hours. It was an extremely long road rip, however we came away with a win so that makes the trip a little better. It was a nice road win for us vs Vichy. Vichy has some of the best fans in the league and it is always a tough place to play. The final score was 75-61. Both our big men played great games. Mo had a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Dounia Issa also had a double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Greer was the only other player in double figures with 15 points. I struggled from the field yesterday missing lay-ups and open pull ups. I finished with 9 points (2-12 2FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-2 FT), 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. It was a great win for us putting our record at 11-6. We are currently still in 5th place.

This week we are playing in the "Week of Acres". It is a tournament which is held for the top 8 teams in the league at the half way mark. It is a three day tournament, if you win you keep playing if you lose you are done. Our first game is on Thursday vs Roanne. The tournament is being held in Pau, which is in the south of France. Thats about all I have for you now. Things are going well over here and we are staying busy. AJ's folks are coming over in 11 days and we are VERY excited to have them visit. It will be a great spending some time with them. Hope you all have a great Sunday. Superbowl! God Bless (Joshua 1:9)

Thursday, February 3, 2011

3-0 EuroChallenge Group

Good afternoon! We had a EuroChallenge home game on Tuesday and we came away with a 74-70 win. It was an intense game from start to finish. Our record sits at 3-0 in our group and we are in first place. Every other team in our group has a record of 1-2. Hopefully we can keep it rolling and advance into the next round. We had 4 guys in double figures. Cyril had 10, Juby had 11, Mo Sene had 15 points and 10 rebounds. I had 30 points (8-12 2FG, 2-4 3FG, 8-8FT), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Our next EuroChallenge game isn't for a couple weeks because we play in a tournament called the Week of Aces next Thursday.

Our next league game is Saturday down in Vichy. Vichy has some of the craziest fans in the league so it is going to be a loud and exciting atmosphere to play in. I am looking forward to it. Not much else going on, I hope that everyone is safe from the big storm and staying warm. Take care and God Bless. (Joshua 1:9)