Patch hosts 4th annual Winter Boys Basketball Tournament
Published: December 18, 2012
Patch High School will welcome seven DODDS-Europe rivals and four local German opponents Dec. 27-29 in the fourth annual Winter Boys Basketball Tournament.
Games start at 10 a.m. each day and are split between the Patch High School gym and fitness center. Admission is free.
The scheduled DODDS-Europe participants are:
• Patch
• AFNorth
• Baumholder
• Bitburg
• Black Forest Academy
• Heidelberg
• Lakenheath
• Ramstein
Rounding out the field are these four German prep teams from the greater Stuttgart area:
• Sindelfingen
• Vaihingen
• Moehringen
• Zuffenhausen
Games are shortened to four six-minute quarters, down eight minutes from the standard 32-minute duration. The games do not count toward the DODDS-Europe teams’ regular-season records. Some of the participating teams may be short a few players due to holiday travel plans, and the possibility exists of a team backing out entirely.
But the announced field is a strong one. Division I bragging rights are at stake as reigning champion Heidelberg and runner-up Ramstein join contenders Patch and Lakenheath. Last year’s tournament final unknowingly offered a preview of the DODDS-Europe championship game as Heidelberg handled Ramstein 67-58.
Division II rivals AFNORTH, Bitburg and Black Forest Academy will likely share some court time. Baumholder, meanwhile, can test itself against tough upper-division competition in hopes of a Division III run after the holiday break.
