Spanish Rec League Basketball

Last night, I had the chance to play in my first work league basketball game.  As you can see above, I am still recovering somewhat from my ankle injury so I wrapped it up and went to work.  Surprisingly, or maybe not so, there weren't a whole lot of differences between US and Spanish work basketball leagues that I could see!

Arriving at the gym, I felt pretty comfortable with the surroundings.  They had several courts divided by those heavy plastic temporary "walls" that are very common and games were going on several.  All ages, skill levels, and even genders were playing, and the court was the same, save for a) the trapezoidal lane that cause me to earn a 3 second violation (or at least I think, I couldn't understand the ref) later in the night and b) the fact that there was maybe 12 inches of space between out of bounds and the wall.  It was a bit cramped, but nothing too major.

The biggest difference I saw was the set-up of the locker rooms.  Each team had a key to a smaller locker room (there were probably 8-10 of these little areas) that had two benches, a communal shower area (which was used more than I expected after the game), a few toilets, and a sink.  This was a pretty cool set-up to me, even if I didn't really use it.  I suppose for real games, it gives good privacy and a place to discuss strategy!

As far as the game goes, it was the same as any other league I've played in.  The teams have a few players who are strong with the ball and there are times when play gets a bit fast and out of control.  Our team had a nice mix of selfless, positive players, which is a pleasant change from many teams (including our opponent).  While the ref could have been better, for instance by not calling fouls on EVERY play, I thought the other team complained way too much, which is another staple of league basketball!  Honestly, though, there were some bad calls, including our team benefiting from a continuation three-point play that probably took five minutes to develop.

As for me, I did okay... mostly rebounding and passing, I tried to contribute in the non-shooting ways (I think I was 2-6 from the field, which needs to improve).  My teammates did a nice job speaking to me in English, but I clearly couldn't understand the ref (I found out the hard way the bonus in each quarter is two shots instead of 1-and-1), the score keeper / timer (I was confused when anything was heard from her direction), or the other team when they complained. 

All in all though, it was great!  It is cool to see that basketball really doesn't need everyone speaking the same language.  After the first two minutes where I got my legs under me and figured out we played a 2-3 zone, I felt completely at home on the court.

The next game is on Friday and I plan to improve my offensive showing.  Let's hope my ankle doesn't have other ideas.