Vicenza's Simon Gilbert puts up a shot Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe boys Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – The tallest player in Europe made sure his team reached the semifinals of the DODEA-Europe Division II boys basketball tournament.
But a pair of guards who are at least 11 inches shorter also could say the same thing after the dust cleared and their teams made the final four.
Vicenza’s Simon Gilbert, listed at 6 feet, 9 inches, had dominating stretches on both ends of the floor as the two-time defending champion Cougars pulled away from Naples 57-33. A Wildcat win would have created a three-way tie in one of the two pools and required tiebreaking criteria to come into play.
That actually did happen in the other pool, with Rota, Sigonella and Bahrain all ending up with a single loss. Rota and Sigonella ended up advancing under tiebreaker rules, breaking the hearts of the eighth-seeded Falcons. Vicenza meets Sigonella and Rota takes on Black Forest Academy in games Friday at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne.
Girls semifinals will feature American Overseas School of Rome against Black Forest and Vicenza taking on Aviano.
Sigonella's Jacob Maloney shoots Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe boys Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella's KJ Lawrence puts back a missed shot Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe boys Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Bahrain's Drue Britton goes in for a layup Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe boys
Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella earned a 51-35 victory over Bahrain in the morning behind the play of 5-10 Jacob Maloney, who tallied 16 points – almost all of them on drives to the basket.
The left-handed point guard said he’s fine with his opponents playing him straight up instead of shading to his stronger hand.
“It’s not broke, don’t fix it,” he said with a smile over defensive schemes he faces.
It’s likely the best boys team Sigonella has fielded since the days of the now defunct American Schools in Italy League almost two decades ago. KJ Lawrence was the only other Jaguar to reach double digits with 11, but a handful of other teammates made baskets and other contributions as well.
“It’s the most unselfish, willing to pass, willing to do the extra things team I’ve had,” coach Jimmy Martin said.
So it might have been a bit strange when Rota, a team that Sigonella defeated twice during the regular season, turned the tables on the Jaguars later in the day.
That effort was led by 5-8 senior Jad Acutim, who tallied 25 points in much of the same way Maloney had earlier – except on the right side of the basket. The Admirals scored 10 straight points – and Acutim had nine of them – to pull away late in the fourth quarter.
“We really wanted to stay in the tournament,” Acutim said after his team’s 49-35 win.
The final semifinalist, BFA, had the easiest day of the four. The Falcons knocked off winless Aviano 65-30 in the opening game of the day. Leo Hemphill had 18.
Vicenza's Jenina Smith goes up for a shot Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe girls Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
American Overseas School of Rome's Silvia Goldman tries to get a shot up after driving to the basket Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe girls Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Black Forest Academy's Charlotte VanMeter shoots as Bahrain's Nyrell Bulls defends Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe girls Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
AOSR and Vicenza, the two top seeds, haven’t really been tested in the tournament.
The Cougars topped Sigonella 46-15 in their first game Thursday. Trishauna Lewis scored all nine of her points in the first quarter as Vicenza took a 17-2 lead.
Rota, coming off a heartbreaking 29-28 loss to Bahrain that effectively knocked them out of semifinal contention, kept the Cougars close in the first half, trailing only 15-10.
But then it turned into the Jenina Smith show. The sophomore guard, who often benefits with baskets from turnovers her teammates create, scored seven points in the third quarter as Vicenza broke the game open en route to a 46-23 victory.
AOSR, which defeated Vicenza in last year’s championship contest, took care of Naples 36-10 in its only contest of the day.
Aviano coasted past winless Marymount 47-7 to open the day and secure its spot.
BFA had the toughest road of the four semifinal teams, eliminating Bahrain 33-30 and defeating Sigonella 36-23 in the final game of the night.
Naples' Landon Heavrin puts up a shot in heavy traffic Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe boys Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella's Luca Spencer shots away a shot from Rota's Gordon Mathurin and gets called for a foul Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe boys Division II basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
