WIESBADEN, Germany – The best pool-play matchup in the DODDS-Europe Division II boys basketball tournament will move to the main stage Saturday.

The second-seeded Rota Admirals and third-seeded American Overseas School of Rome Falcons will play for the European title Saturday, less than 48 hours removed from a classic overtime showdown that saw the Admirals hit dramatic game-tying and game-winning three-pointers.

On Friday, the teams won their respective semifinals to arrange a return meeting.

Rota 58, Ansbach 51: The Admirals have a flair for dramatic basketball games. Luckily, they play the part well.

Second-seeded Rota dragged out another stirring win from a game that was very much in doubt well into the second half. This latest performance put the Admirals a victory away from a European title.

Just before halftime, Rota saw a reasonably comfortable six-point lead sliced in half by a late three-pointer by Ansbach’s Jaime Anderson.

In response, Rota came out of halftime gunning. The Admirals’ crisp passing and accurate shooting quickly grew that lead to 12, forcing Ansbach to call timeout amidst a 9-0 Rota run.

The timeout had the desired effect. The Cougars clawed away at their deficit until it was back to three at the start of the fourth quarter.

Rota set to work again, reestablishing a lead that this time would not only stick, but grow to 10 entering the final minute.

Luis Fuertes made five fourth-quarter free throws to help hold the Rota lead.

“The words we live by are ‘heart over height,’” said Fuertes, one of five Admirals checking in at 5-foot-8 or shorter. “That’s how we play.”

The gritty win continued a tournament-long trend for the Admirals, who faced a grueling three-day road to the title game. They lost to Bitburg in overtime to open the tournament, recovered with solid wins over tough Hohenfels and Bahrain teams and didn’t lock in a semifinal berth until they edged AOSR in overtime Thursday evening.

On Friday, they outlasted a taller, more athletic Cougar squad to reach the tournament’s final day. The arduous slate of games has left the Admirals a grizzled, well-tested squad ready for the rigors of a title game.

“They’re very exhausting, but it’s preparation. We knew every game was going to be tough,” Rota coach Ben Anderson said. “Because of our size and our age, we’re not going to scare or blow out anybody.”

Jashaun Garrison, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, scored 19 points and 5-foot-8 freshman D’Angelo Gallardo scored 17 points to pace Rota.

McMorris scored all 15 of his points in the second half for Ansbach; Cedric Page led the team with 16 points.

AOSR 63: Black Forest Academy 40: The BFA Falcons were posed with an unenviable question as they headed into their semifinal game against the AOSR Falcons.

The question: How do you stop AOSR’s Otis Reale?

The answer ended up being quite simply; you don’t. Reale continued his dominance of the tournament with 36 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and a handful of blocked shots. He also went eight of 10 from the line.

Most players would remember a game like that for the rest of their playing days. Reale said he would remember it as the day AOSR finally gets its shot at the No. 1 spot.

“It’s been a while since our team got to the finals and we’ve never won any,” he said. “Everybody is real excited to be the first to bring the championship back.”

BFA did its best to contain Reale. At half, coach Chris Greathouse changed up the defensive scheme, putting two guys on him for the rest of the game.

It worked to some extent, but that only freed up Gregory China, who added 14 points to the scoreboard.

“We came here planning to play our style of ball. Our style of ball got us here,” Greathouse said. “We hoped it would take us where we wanted to go. Obviously, it didn’t work out that way, but we’ve got to gear up for tomorrow.”

Black Forest will play Ansbach for third place. If they stick to their style of game – that being to feed the ball to big man Kayden Proctor as much as possible – they may have a good shot at bringing home the first top-three placing in BFA boys basketball history.

Proctor served as the Falcon’s muscle, grabbing six rebounds, as well as operating as their main line of offense with 10 points. Though disappointed by the loss to AOSR, Proctor’s jovial attitude seemed hardly dampened by the experience. That may be bad news for Ansbach.

“You know, they’re [AOSR] is such a talented team,” Proctor said. “Otis is an incredible player. Tough loss, but we are pumped up for tomorrow. BFA has never won third place and we want to be the first.”

broome.gregory@stripes.com; darnell.michael@stripes.com

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