Rakeville Times: Stonewall Defense

Under the night sky, Crows Andrew Bogut blocks a shot from Danawolves Guard Ray Allen as Rakeville goes on to beat Boston and head to the finals.


Stonewall Defense
By Aviator McShadeless, Rakeville Times

With Steve Nash and Rashard Lewis on the court in the final seconds of Rakeville’s semi-final matchup against Boston in the open-air festival that was the Claffey Coliseum, the Crows were stunned when it was Andrew Bogut who provided the late game heroics, lifting the second seed over the Danawolves and into the EHBA Championship game.

“It got late in the game and Darko [Milicic] and I were like, ‘No one gets in here,” said Bogut, whose 3 blocks and 14 rebounds on Sunday helped fend off the Boston assault. “Holding the paint was a challenge. Shaq is huge, and Kobe [Bryant]was having a great game. We just had a feeling we could hold them.”

The Crows defense stymied Boston in the waning minutes, taking blocks, steals and rebounds along with field goal percentage and three pointers. Surprisingly, Rakeville did not use any 24-hour contract players throughout the series. It was a strategy they used to propel themselves into the playoffs in the second half of the season, but none were signed for the matchup.

“It’s not that signing those players wouldn’t have helped us, but in a short series like this, we needed to be certain the players on the court were ones we could trust,” said Team President Tim Legler. “We have a lot of good players in Rakeville, and we wanted to give them a chance to be great.”

And while no one will mistake Andrew Bogut for Pedro Martinez, his performance last night may be considered one of the best in Rakeville postseason sports. If the Crows can go on and win in Montreal, expect him to be featured prominently in the championship DVD.

“This is what we pay for,” said Bogut. “Since we were little, winning an EHBA title was something you’d pretend to do on the playground. The chance to compete for it now is a wonderful opportunity. I just wish I didn’t have to wear a stupid mask.”

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