GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Just hours after the preliminary round of the U.S. Army Europe basketball championships concluded Wednesday, the tournament was halted because of security concerns.
Brig. Gen. Robert M. Williams, commander of the 7th Army Training Command, which includes Grafenwöhr, ordered the stoppage, according to Army-Europe sports chief Ken Wetherill.
Wetherill said Thursday the order was a result of “the overall security situation. We had a lot of teams that still had to travel here. It would have meant a lot of people on the road. It was the right decision.”
Wetherill preferred to characterize Williams’ action as a suspension rather than a cancellation, adding that he is working to reschedule the event as soon as the world situation permits.
“I will do everything in my power to give the soldiers what’s due to them — a championship event,” he said. “I’m not going to give up.
“The world is going to dictate what we do.”
Eight men’s and eight women’s community-level teams were scheduled to play in the event, which was to run through Sunday. Instead, it was suspended Wednesday night, after Kitzingen’s men defeated Vicenza in a best-of-three play-in series.
The U.S. Air Forces in Europe had already canceled its championship tournament. Also affected is the Army-Air-Force Final Four event, which was scheduled in Grafenwöhr April 4-6.