The 37th Training Support Squadron intramural basketball team is in pursuit of a third consecutive JBSA-Lackland intramural basketball championship. Winning a third straight title would be a parting gift for team members who are scheduled to move to different duty stations after the season’s conclusion.
“These guys have been family to me over the past four years,” said Tech. Sgt. Stephen Constantin, 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight medic. “We want them to go out with a bang.”
“It would defi nitely be nice to get one more championship under our belt before some of (our teammates) leave JBSA-Lackland,” added Staff Sgt. Jonathan Cabello, 37th TRSS combat weapons instructor. The 37th TRSS are currently 2-1 in the intramural league’s East Division.
Constantin believes experience will be chief in the team’s road to the playoffs.
“We have been to the playoffs enough times to know what it takes to get there and win it,” he said.
Cabello agrees.
“We played well last year and know we can do it again,” he said. “We have the same guys from last year and a few add-ons, but we were able to knock down shots last year and believe we can do it again and be successful.”
Cabello said the team has to pick and choose their shot selection wisely the rest of the season if they want to make another playoff run, and he stressed that communication is crucial in maintaining team chemistry.
“We have to talk to each other on the floor whenever we get lax on both ends of the floor,” he said. “When a teammate is slacking, we build them up to keep them going. It’s a team effort so we have to look out for each other.
“It’s also important that everyone understands their role on the team. Players on the court have to know where they are at all times so if a mistake goes down we can communicate with each other to cover it up.”
Cabello remembers the feeling of accomplishment the 37th TRSS felt after defeating the 59th Medical and Logistics Readiness Squadron for their second consecutive title in 2015.
He is hopeful the team can recapture that same feeling in 2016.
“It would be extremely sweet (to 3-peat),” he said. “It doesn’t happen too often that a team wins three consecutive championships.
We know the rest of the teams in the league are coming at us to prevent us from accomplishing that, so it would be nice to prove them wrong.
Constantin said he can taste the feeling of a 3peat this early in the season.
“We are as skilled as any of the others teams on base,” he said. “We are hungry for a 3-peat, and I believe our experience will take us to the top.”