JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Men’s Varsity basketball team, the “Raptors,” completed their season May 29, 2017, after participating in the Military National Basketball Tournament. The tournament was hosted at the Joint Base San Antonio’s, Texas, Chaparral and Warhawk fitness centers.
The Raptors, led by team captain U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Julian Royal, 633rd Force Support Squadron formal training supervisor, finished the season with eight regular season wins, two third place and one first place tournament finish.
In addition to their tournament wins, the Raptors ultimate cooperation led to success in their division, where they became the Washington Area Military Athletic Conference champions.
“It felt great because I love winning, I’m a competitor and I’ve been winning ever since I came into the military,” said Royal about joining the WAMAC and becoming champions in the Raptors’ second season. “We all had a hand in birthing the Raptors and to see how far we came and how quickly it all came together in two years, it’s great to see. I feel very accomplished, satisfied and humbled.”
Since the Raptors won their conference, the team automatically qualified for the Military National Basketball Tournament. The double elimination tournament was held over Memorial Day weekend and was comprised of 16 teams. The teams included other conference champions and select teams from around the Department of Defense.
According to Royal, some of the competition, were from the NBA Developmental League, former Division One collegiate players and service members who made the All Air Force and All Army teams.
Despite injuries to key players, the Raptors were able to defeat the Fort Bliss, Texas, and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, teams, before ultimately losing to first, the Joint Base San Antonio- Fort Sam Houston, Texas, team and then to the Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama team.
“We were ranked fourth going into the tournament, the loss of the key players impacted the outcome,” said JBLE Raptors head coach, Kevin O’Mally, 633rd Civil Engineers Squadron heating ventilation air conditioning technician. “If our players didn’t get hurt, I believe we would have won the whole tournament.”
According to Royal, even though the season ended with a loss, the team is thankful for the chance to assemble a team and compete and for the opportunities that could come from their participation.
“I love that the Air Force and Army give their members a chance to showcase their talents and excel, they are getting new experiences and a new level of competition,” said O’Mally. “At Nationals, there were division one and division two schools and all forces scouts in attendance that could help propel their careers or get them into division one school basketball programs. Some people think because they are in the service, they can’t find that type of opportunity but they actually do playing in this high level tournament.”
The Raptors will start their next season in September 2017. If you are interested in joining the JBLE Men’s Varsity Team, contact U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Williams, 633rd FSS sports director at 225-0473.