WIESBADEN, Germany – Last time the two teams met, the American Overseas School of Rome Falcons put on a show with the Rota Admirals.

This time, they put on a clinic.

AOSR won the 2015 DODDS-Europe Division II boys basketball championship Saturday at Clay Kaserne Fitness Center with a 42-28 victory over Rota.

This wire-to-wire win was the anticlimactic cousin of the pool-play classic the teams staged Thursday, which Rota won 51-48 in overtime.

Saturday’s rematch had its compelling moments, but they were nearly all provided by one player: AOSR sophomore phenom Otis Reale. The 5-foot-7 guard was an absolute blur of perimeter excellence in the first quarter, fulfilling his goal to “start off strong.”

First Reale hit a three-pointer to give AOSR an early 5-0 lead. Minutes later, he took off at the helm of a two-on-one fast break, deftly tucked the ball behind his back to feign a pass to his teammate and proceeded past the flummoxed Rota defender for a layup. Then he poked the ball loose at halfcourt and trotted in for an uncontested layup. Finally, Reale swished a shot from several feet behind the three-point line to beat the first-quarter buzzer and give the Falcons a 14-point lead.

The Admirals, meanwhile, couldn’t summon any of the magic they enjoyed Thursday, when a three-pointer by Jashaun Garrison forced overtime and another by D’Angelo Gallardo won the game. The same crisp, patient passing was there, and even many of the same long-distance looks at the rim. But the shots simply wouldn’t fall.

Rota coach Ben Anderson acknowledged as much, though he reserved plenty of praise for the Falcons.

“They had something to do with that. Take nothing away from them,” Anderson said. “They played a better game tonight. They were the better team.”

Rota was successful in derailing Reale for much of the game, holding him to just six points after his first-quarter outburst. The Admirals just couldn’t take advantage on the other end, and never got closer than five points before AOSR pulled away to stay.

With the Admirals’ defense obsessed with Reale, the guard willingly distributed in the fourth quarter, and his Falcon teammates converted just enough of those opportunities to prevent a Rota rally. Greg China scored six points in the fourth, while Axel Peeters added four.

“My teammates helped me a lot today,” Reale said. “I’m really proud of them.”

Reale finished with a game-high 16 points, while China joined him in double figures with 12. Freshman center Andy Drake paced the Admirals with 12 points.

The win is AOSR’s first-ever DODDS-Europe boys basketball championship. For coach Phil Davis, it’s the crowning achievement of his 16-year tenure with the Falcons.

Though he acknowledged that it “does help to have a player like” Reale, Davis stressed the squad’s underrated teamwork in delivering that long-sought championship.

“This team played together as a family,” Davis said. “The kids came through.”

Both teams ranked among the Division II elite all season, particularly after 2014 champion Vicenza moved to Division I and took Naples and SHAPE along.

AOSR, a 2014 semifinalist, recovered from a season-opening pair of losses to Aviano to rattle off 11 straight wins entering the tournament. The Falcons were rewarded with the tournament’s No. 3 seed.

Rota played its usual light DODDS-Europe schedule given its distance from most opponents, but made good on all four of those regular-season opportunities.

The Admirals slid into the second slot in the bracket. Thursday’s pool-play finale appropriately left both teams in the semifinal round; AOSR blasted Black Forest Academy 63-40 and Rota outlasted Ansbach 58-51 to set up Saturday’s rematch.

And that’s where the tumultuous bracket finally produced an undisputed champion, and a crestfallen runner-up that Anderson did his best to console.

“Kids will be kids,” Anderson said. “We love them whether they win or lose.”

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

American Overseas School of Rome 42, Rota 28 Saturday at Wiesbaden, GermanyRota 4 8 9 7 -- 28AOSR 18 6 4 14 -- 42Scoring – Rota: Andy Drake 12, D’Angelo Gallardo 8, Jashaun Garrison 4, Anthony Vivio 4; AOSR: Otis Reale 16, Greg China 12, Axel Peeters 8, Brando Monetti 3, Tomasso Semprini 2, Thomas Yao 1.

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