KILLEEN, Texas — A loud crowd came together at the Killeen Family Recreation Center to cheer on the G Force Rebels, as they took on an unusual opponent, the Killeen Fire Department.
The grannies showed their fire from the moment the first whistle blew. Their first point in the game came via the free-throw line.
Then, a few moments later, they scored two more with a layup. From that point on, the grannies made it known that they had the upper hand.
"It was fun, it was a lot of fun, no stress," said G Force Rebels player, Kathy Diaz, after the game.
While the G Force was having fun, the firefighters were breaking a sweat, having to learn a new style of play and deal with other disadvantages, including oven mitts.
"Basketball is obviously not our sport, but some of the rules they put on us put a damper on things so the oven mitt was fun, but man, that made it difficult," said Killeen Fire battalion chief, Trent Parker.
Diaz added, "they can probably shoot very good without them, but they also had to play by our rules and I know that was very difficult, no jumping is hard."
Eventually, the mitts came off, and Killeen Fire was able to get some points on the board.
The grannies, however, were not fazed and continued dominating on both ends of the floor, even when the basketball was switched to a beach one.
After 32 minutes of play, the grannies completed the knockout by the grannies and won the friendly fire with a final score of 35-14.
In the end, both teams walked off with big smiles, because the real goal of the game was not to win, but to raise donations for the non-profit organization, Texas Humane Heroes.
"We bring in animals from other shelters throughout Texas that are overcrowded, and we bring them into our program," said Texas Humane Heroes spokesperson, Ami Russell. "A lot of those shelters have to euthanize for space so that's where we come in and helping out across Texas."
Even though the firefighters failed to extinguish the grannies' flame, they left confident knowing they could take them down on a different court.
"The G Force Grannies brought it, so hopefully we can play them in football, or pickleball one day, cause they don't stand a chance there," said Parker.
The G Force Rebels are hosting several Texas teams on Saturday, April 27, click here to view their detailed schedule.
The Texas Humane Heroes is a no-kill, private, nonprofit established in 1979. If you would like to donate, click here to visit their website.
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