The first day of the 2015 DODDS Europe Division III tournaments was just another day of basketball.

Some teams rose to the challenge of the bigger stage and some fell to their own mistakes. Incrilik’s girls team couldn’t make it to the tournament because of a massive snow storm. The Ankara boys were coached by another team’s head coach. Formerly winless Menwith Hill got its first victory of the season in the last basketball game in school history.

Yep, just another day of basketball.

It started normally enough though, with a spate of games that began to form the shape of Friday’s quarter and semifinals.

BoysSigonella will face off against Brussels, while the Alconbury Dragons take on the Baumholder Bucs in Friday’s games that will determine championship matchup.

The Jaguars went undefeated on the day, rolling over Menwith Hill, 48-9 and then Baumholder, 51-48 in a potential preview of Friday’s championship game.

In that clash of D-III titans, Signoella came out on top by scoring fast and scoring often, going up by as much as 20 points late in the game.

Jaguar forward Thomas Wray – who by his own admission runs hot and cold – was on the upswing against Menwith, scoring 14 and serving as a key choke point in coach David Berlin’s press.

“Our defense lets us break open on offense,” Wray said. “It’s one of our strengths because we have a true position player at every spot. Everybody gets involved in defense.”

That’s a good philosophy to have in this tournament, especially with an Alconbury team that put up 48 points against a strong Brussels team and then 52 against a motivated Incirlik squad.

The Dragons will have a challenging matchup against Baumholder and say they would have it no other way.

“We have a lot to look forward to,” Alconbury’s Wesley Reddecliff said. “They’ll be ready to play, we’ll be ready to play – but we’ll be more ready.”

Despite Baumholder’s loss to the Jaguars, the Bucs have the tools to make it to Saturday’s finals. Jaylon Bentley dropped 18 unanswered points on Menwith Hill in the first quarter, leading to coach Darrell Winfrey to rest his starting five. He sat them again for a bit during their final game against Ankara, so they should be well-rested for Friday.

Brussels dropped a game against Alconbury, but bounced back against Incirlik later in the evening. Much like the other three teams in the semifinals, they’re ready to put Thursday behind them and come out firing.

"We started off kind of slow. We were off our usual rhythm,” Brigand guard Michael DeFazio said. “But it’s one game at a time and we found our rhythm eventually. Once we’re in it, we’re hard to beat. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Ankara had a rough day, dropping both of its games.

Part of their woes can be attributed to the fact that their coach never made it to the tournament, stranded due to the same snow storm that wreaked havoc in the girls’ bracket. Incirlik coach Kevin Ledhe filled in, part of his duties as a member of what he called “Team Turkey.”

GirlsWhile the boys brackets are set, much of what happens Saturday in girls D-III basketball will depend on a couple of early games Friday.

Top-seeded Alconbury, 1-1 on the day, will play against Incirlik – the Hodjas were expected to arrive late Thursday night - for the right to face off against Sigonella. Baumholder wrapped up its spot in the semifinals and will play the winner of the Brussels-Ankara game.

Baumholder and Sigonella will be tough outs. Neither the Bucs or the Jaguars dropped a game Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Baumholder beat Alconbury in another potential championship preview match, 29-18. In that game the Bucs and Dragons were neck and neck for three quarters, but an impressive run by Eliyah Tillman late in the fourth put the Bucs ahead. Way ahead.

With the game tied at 18, the Bucs turned to Tillman. She responded by playing one of the better quarters of basketball of her young career, scoring 12 points and nabbing three rebounds and generally ruining Alconbury’s day.

It’s a performance she nearly doubled against Ankara later in the evening, dropping 23 points on the Turkish team.

“My girls really wanted to win and I did as well,” she said. “This isn’t just me, we all pulled together today.”

Baumholder could be facing Alconbury again in the championship Saturday, but the Dragons aren’t looking that far ahead. Not until they clear Incirlik off their plate first.

“It doesn’t matter who you play, because you always give it everything you got,” said Alconbury captain Jada Griffin-Howard. “We played strong today. I hope we can keep it up.”

Darnell.michael@stripes.com

Migrated