San Quentin’s Intramural B-Ball League kicked off on a hot Sunday morning on the Lower Yard with a tight-scoring contest.
The SQ Celtics triumphed narrowly, 45-43, over the SQ Bulls, as known for their Islamic name, Deen Al-Haqq.
It was a good day, Deen al-Haqq center Rick Hall commented, coming during the celebration of Ramadan.
It was the first game of the season, with players not eating or drinking for Ramadan. But that was not the reason they lost, the big center commented.
“You struggle with thirst but it’s a bigger meaning, much more than the physical fatigue,” said Hale, which was his very first time practicing Ramadan. “I can honestly say that it was not that. Because the mental acuteness was there. I think that we will be alright going forward into the season.”
While other sports like baseball and tennis was happening on the Lower Yard, the basketball court was surrounded with SQ residents cheering on their teams of choice. “Let’s go!” yelled a spectator.
There were a bunch of “Awww!” and “Ooooh’s” trickling out of the mouths of the more than 50 spectators when shots were being taken and missed. But, the entire crowd was crushed and let out a unison of a disappointed “Oooooh!” when Joshua “JB” Burton missed a beautiful layup right up under the bucket that would have tied the game at the buzzer and sent the game into overtime.
That shot by Burton was probably the highlight of the game, because both teams did not reach 50 points.
Hale humbly took the blame for the loss of the game and let his teammate off the hook. “It was my crucial two free throws that I missed that cost us the game,” said Hale. “Although we lost, it turned out to be a good first game.”
