Week 3 has come and gone and the teams are starting to show their true identites. Some frauds and some real solid teams. As always.. we started our week at IFS Basketball with 3 big games
Game 1
Celtics 78 Mavs 65
One thing you can always count on is Tony B lighting up the gym, especially on his home court. The Celtics got out early in this one starting on a 11-0 run including 3s from both Bernstein and Bollinger. Mavs Forward Andy "HandyMan" Strug showed late to the contest but hoped to make an immediate impact for the team. It didn't matter, the Celtics were HOT! The Celtics extended an early 1H lead to 17 (23-6). There was some signs of life from the Mavs. They cut the lead to 10 late in the 1H and entered halftime down 7 (45-38) courtesy of an Aaron Jones floater seconds before the buzzer. The margin in the 2H never dropped below 7 as the Celtics built up more than enough of a lead to play well enough to bring home the win.
Celtics
Jack Bernstein: 17P, 7R, 6A
Nani Rivers: 14P, 2S
Tony Bollinger: 19P, 5 3pt
Mavs
Aaron Jones: 32P, 4A
Andy Strug: 12P, 5R
Ahmet Merzihic: 40 Min of Cardio
The Celtics will face the Wolves (0-3) this Thursday at 730PM at IFS Basketball.
The Mavs will face the Nuggets (2-1) this Sunday in Gym 1 at 7PM at St. Francis HS
Game 2
Kings 77 Grizzlies 63
KINGS WORLD!!!! From start to finish this was a Mario Quattrucci masterpiece. Grizzlies Guard Conrad Ring described the game as a "Facetime from Mario" because that's all he did. 9 3s and every one looked tougher than the next. The duo of Quattrucci and Rookie Guard Kye Ridgeway combined again for another 55 points in the game. Unoffically, I don't think any other duo is scoring more for their team through the first 3 weeks. The Grizzlies saw their woes come to life as Matt Larusch turned an ankle and 997 Ring took a nasty fall injuring his knee. We wish both of them the best and speedy recoveries. Grizzlies Guard CJ Moore tried his best to will his team back in this one but it just wasn't enough.
Kings
Mario Quattrucci: 31P, 9 3pt
Malikye Ridgeway: 24P, 11R, 7A
Grizzlies
CJ Moore: 25P, 7 3pt
997: 8P, 15R, 5S
The Kings will face the Wizards (1-2) this Sunday in Gym 1 at 8PM at St. Francis HS
The Grizzlies will face the Sonics (1-2) this Sunday in Gym 2 at 5PM at St. Francis HS
Game 3
Wizards 67 Suns 59
In a game without Tony Gualla, the Wizards would need to look elsewhere for leadership against a hungry Suns team looking to put their stamp on the AllPlay Summer League. The game started on a bank shot 3 from Smoove Nevins. A early sign for a good night perhaps? Well, despite the ugly ball control by both teams early, the Wizards would go on to figure it out. Getting out to a quick 6-0 lead before Suns Guard Brady Gleason got the team on the board. The early 3 didn't get the team going how they would've liked. Kevin Zabawa asserted his dominance in the tilt securing a double double with ease. The Suns did eventually start seeing the bottom of the net and even went onto a little run themselves giving themselves a 6 point lead midway through the 1H. Then the Mike Davis takeover began. He led the Wizards on an incredible 15-0 run (19-13 --> 28-19). The Wiz had the lead at half and never gave it back despite the efforts of the Suns.
Wizards
Mike Davis: 15P, 7A, 4S
Kevin Zabawa: 18P, 18R, 6B
AJ Turner: 12P, 7R, 4A
Suns
J Mart: 17P, 11R, 4S
Matteo Duennebacke: 14
The Wizards will face the Kings (3-0) this Sunday at 8PM in Gym 1 at St. Francis HS
The Suns will face the Clippers (1-2) this Sunday at 4PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
Week 3 continued at St. Francis HS where we followed up a massive dance recital. The gym was flooded with flowers and dresses but we however managed to adapt overcome adversity, as we often do, to get the games rolling.
Game 4
Magic 56 Nets 37
We heard about it all week, the healthy Nets will be a different team. I guess GM BG meant that as in they'll only score 37 points as a team. This Magic team looks good and they play as a unit. Center Tyree Coble showed up a little late to the action giving the Nets the significant size advantage in the early on. Other Magic Center Admir Merzihic stepped up big time in the early absence of Coble knocking down a huge 3 as well as finishing through contact for a tough lay-in. A well balanced team effort saw Luke Ingrando, Admir Merzihic, and Danny Emma all score doule digits for the Magic. This game got ugly in the 2H and the Nets never recovered.
Magic
Danny Emma: 11P, 5R
Admir Merzihic: 10P, 6R
Luke Ingrando: 15P
Nets
Kavon Rogers: 11P, 9R, 4B
Conuh Foley: 12P (8FT)
Nick Reeb: Touched earth, 5 hacks (only 2 called)
The Magic will face the Sixers (1-2) this Sunday at 6PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
The Nets will face the Rockets (1-2) this Thursday at 830PM at IFS Basketball
Game 5
Thunder 73 Bulls 45
I tried to do a better job of watching both gyms or at least the games that didn't have a lot of coverage. Here's what I saw...
A lot of points to a little points. That was the final but the Bulls didn't just lay down. After a back and fourth start the Thunder began to pull away slightly. Bulls Guard Daryl Hanes did his best to keep the Bulls within reach securing multiple steals and rebounds and opportunities in transition. The issue was, they didn't have an answer for the transition offense of the Thunder. Forward Tyler Kittinger continued his hot start to the season netting 24 for the Thunder. AP2 did his thing for the Thunder creating 3 takeaway of his own. The second half of this game was really just a open run for the Thunder as they streched their lead to 20+.
Thunder
TK: 24P, 10R
AP2: 14P, 6R, 3S
Manty Jones: 10P, 5A
Kaleb O'Hara: 11P, 5S
Bulls
Daryl Hanes: 12P, 6R, 3S
KMD: 7P, 1 Charge taken
The Thunder will face the Heat (2-1) this Sunday at 6PM in Gym 1 at St. Francis HS
The Bulls will face the Raptors (0-3) this Sunday at 5PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
Game 6
Lakers 58 Heat 34
This was an absolute slaughter from the jump. This game got out of hand so fast that APA management pulled the plug on the stream at half and cut into the other game. The Lakers started up 10-0, had a 15-4, and 25-5 lead all in the first 12 minutes of the 1H. The halftime leas was 35-9 for the Lakers. In the 2H things didn't change as the Lakers continued to pour it on. "Big T" Tommy Michael secured his second straight double-double and forward Jack Jarzysnki added 8 points for the team in Gold. Jemery Clark was the only Heat player to score double digits for the Heat.
Lakers
Derick Simpson: 14P, 8R, 2B
Tommy Michael: 11P, 11R
Heat
Jemery Clark: 10P
(1) belt to ass
The Lakers will face the Pistons (2-1) this Sunday at 7PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
The Heat will face the Thunder (3-0) this Sunday at 6PM in Gym 1 at St. Francis HS
Game 7
Knicks 82 Rockets 62
I didn't get to watch most of this due to me playing but because the Heat forgot to play today, the cameras caught most of the 2H of this one. We tune in with a Knicks lead of 50-40 with 13 remaining in the 2H. This game however did not feature Rockets Guard Jay Bergmann. The Rockets battled hard behind the efforts of Alex Hiam and Derek Dorr. 5 different Knicks secured double digit scoring efforts in the win (Reed, Kimble, Pfohl, Redden, Hart) while Dorr and Hiam scored 51 of the teams 62 total points. The Rockets will certainly need Jay Bergmann to return to the lineup if they plan on having late season success.
Knicks
Meech Reed: 23P
Kalon Kimble: 15P, 7R
Richie Sotero: 8P, 12R
Rockets
Alex Hiam: 29P
Dorr: 22P, 11R, 4S
The Knicks will face the Spurs (3-0) this Sunday at 4PM in Gym 1 at St. Francis HS
The Rockets will face the Nets (1-2) this Thursday at 830PM at IFS Basketball
Game 8
Nuggets 70 Bobcats 68 (2OT)
WHAT A GAME! This one was fun from the jump. The Bobcats came into this one following a OT loss the week prior and the Nuggets entered the week coming in hot off a big win. Charlie "No Cap" Sobieraski was MIA from the contest (Instagram confirmed he was in-fact enjoying himself with his family). This game did get started on a good note as Star Nuggets Guard Devon Darrell returned the APA2 Wilson Evolution that we firmly believe Rockets G Alex Hiam planted in DD's bag. Early in the action the Bobcats were a handful as Forward Coan Relyea and Eddie Cosgrove looked significantly bigger as they imposed their dominance. The Bobcats jumped out to a quick 17-8 lead. Some back and fourth scoring had a 25-20 Bobcats lead with 4 and a half minutes left in the 1H. A few quiet moments and then a BOOM! from Coan Relyea with about a minute left. Bobcats took the lead into the half 30-23.
The Nuggets came out on FIRE starting the 2H on a quick 17-2 run to reclaim the lead 40-32. A flury of 3s from DD, the Husband, Alex Davis, and Donte Ridgeway fueled the run the Nuggets so desperately needed. Most of the 2H was the Bobcats doing their absolute best to slow down Darrell and it looked like the Nuggets were going to run away with this one. Cosgrove and Relyea fought hard to keep the Cats within reach. A big Mike Q bankshot with 7 and a half left cut the Nuggets lead to 4. Quick timeout for the Nuggets here. Fast forward to the 3 minutes left mark when GM Jake Nye cut through the lane for a tough reverse lay-in to cut the Nuggets lead to 1. Cosgrove was fouled on his drive to put him to the line down one. He hit one to tie it when Guard** Eli Williams** of the Nuggets finished a tough iso move. The Cats went back to Cosgrove as he drove basline and went to punch it in but threw it off the back rim and missed giving the possession to the Nuggets. Williams had a shot to really apply the pressure but missed the front end of a 1 and 1. MVP drove the lane and finished a tough basket to tie the game at 61 with 30 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, MVP ripped DD at halfcourt but couldn't possess the ball and after getting fouled. The Cats were going to hold for the last shot but MVP passed to Nye on the wing and Nye lost the ball out of bounds with 8 seconds left! Darrell drove through the lane and picked up a cheeky foul courtesy of Geisler with 4 seconds left. Darrell MISSED the front end of the bonus opportunity. With 4 seconds left, Geis tossed up a prayer in which Coan Relyea secured the airball and almost walked off on a putback as time expired but he missed off the side of the rim!
OVERTIME!
The first OT finished at 66 a piece with baskets from Eli Williams, Devon Darrell, Eddie Cosgrove, and two clutch FTs from Coan Relyea only because of a lane violation on behalf of the Nuggets! The drama was real. Bodies were battered, the fellas were leaving it all out there. Nuggets GM Ajay Cybulski had a great look from the top of the key for the win but missed off the front rim.
OVERTIME! (again)
I'll cut to the end. After 2 points per team in the session it came down to the final touch. Nuggets G DD sized up the defense with under 10 seconds left. He patientely set up his defender as all eyes were on him. NOBODY saw what was coming next. GM Ajay Cybulski slid behind the zone and set himself up inside the paint when DD rifled in a pass that got to the hands of Cybulski for the last second layup! The Nuggets pull of the miracle finish in Athol Springs.
Nuggets
DD: 38P, 7R, 12 FTM (took about 20)
Bobcats
Cosgrove: 26P
Coan Relyea: 17P, 25R
The Nuggets will face the Mavs (2-1) this Sunday at 7PM in Gym 1 at St. Francis HS
The Bobcats will face the Bucks (3-0) this Thursday at 630PM at IFS Basketball
Game 9
Spurs 67 Sixers 52
Another game I didn't catch much of because I was absolutely dialed in on that Nuggets Bobcats game. From what I did see, Spurs Forward Sean Weisansal and GM Ben Bill have themselves a nice little setup over there in Spur Country. Weisansal coming off his 3rd straight double-double looked to be more than enough to help the Spurs secure their 3rd straight win. The Sixers really could use Jake Ritts to return from his hiatus as they lack rebounding and hustle. Levi Taberski made his Sixer debut after being recently acquired from the Raptors.
Spurs
Sean Weisansal: 22P, 10R
Xross Edwards: 12P, 5R, 4A
Sixers
Chase Kline: 18P, 6 3pt
Brian Woods: 10P, 2B
The Spurs will face the Knicks (2-1) this Sunday at 4PM in Gym 1 at St. Francis HS
The Sixers will face the Magic (2-1) this Sunday at 6PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
Game 10
Pistons 82 Raptors 79 (OT)
This was the most un-Pistons game I've seen in their teams existence. So many points, so many tough shots and a great game overall. The scoring was split between 8 3s between the Prince, Mike Bass and Noah Grabar. A plethora of buckets from both teams had the Raptors up 2 as time was about to expire until Pistons Guard Kevin Marcinkowski nailed a deep 3 at the HT buzzer!
The Raptors got out to an early 2H lead behind some sharp shooting from Mike Ludwig and Luba. A total of 31 3s were made between the teams in the contest. Mike Ludwig hit his 4th 3 to not only give the Raptors a 13 point cushion halfway through the 2H, but to also cash in on broadcast analyst Conuh Foley's single bet (Ludwig O 3.5 3s). The Pistons got a couple stops to get back in the game and we even got a ShamGod 3 from GM Shawn Fischer to cut the lead to 5 with 6 min left. The Pistons continued to stay hot and went on a 11-0 run to reclaim the lead 69-68. The Raptors hit some late FTs and with just 10 seconds left the Pistons had a chance to tie or take the lead. Marcinkowski attacked the basket and made the layup through contact resulting in OVERTIME.
In overtime a couple of baskets were exchanged between Bass and Grabar until the Pistons took advantage of the FTs late in the OT and securing the win.
Pistons
Prince: 26P, 12R, 5 3pt
Al Warren: 12P, 10R, 4S, 3B
Marcinkowski: 10P, 8A
Fish: 21P, 6R, 5 3pt
Raptors
Grabar: 34P, 10R, 6 3pt
Ludwig: 15P
The Pistons will face the Lakers (2-1) this Sunday at 7PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
The Raptors will face the Bulls (0-3) this Sunday at 5PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
Game 11
Bucks 54 Wolves 51
The Bucks stay hot behind the leadership on Forward Jack Bickerstaff and the sharpshooting of Guard Nolan Edwards. A back and fourth contest early in the game as Forward Jarmani Cooper of the Wiolves showed off the range as well as his floater package early on. On the other end, Nolan Edwards kept his hot streak active canning early deep balls with ease. The former MVP was too much for the Wolves to handle. Bickerstaff cleaned the glass and facilitated the offense well enough for the Bucks to get the lead and not look back. A hard fought battle from the Wolves saw them with an opportunity late to tie it but came up short yet again.
Bucks
Bickerstaff: 19P, 10R
Edwards: 19P
Borrello: 8P, 9R
Wolves
Mani Cooper: 22P, 7R
Jordan Ernest: 9P, 6A
The Bucks will face the Bobcats (1-2) this Thursday at 630PM at IFS Basketball.
The Wolves will face the Celtics (2-1) this Thursday at 730PM at IFS Basketball
Game 12
Clippers 87 Sonics 52
The Clippers finally put it together. A great game from GM G Haze Clippers team gets them finally into the win column. The Clippers started off scorching hot giving themselves a 16-5 opening run. Subs entered and the run continued. The Sonics had no answer for the transition offense of the Clippers. If it wasn't for Sonics Guard Mitchell Middlebrooks, the Sonics would've been absolutely lost on offense. Not much to report other than the Clippers putting "B2A" as we call it over at AllPlay Athletics.
Clippers
Magic Hoellig: 28P, 13R,5A
Bioweapon: 16P
Putter Brown: 14P
Sonics
Mitchell Middlebrooks:18P
Roy Wallace: 9P, 15R
The Clippers will face the Suns (0-3) this Sunday at 4PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
The Sonics will face the Grizzlies (2-1) this Sunday at 5PM in Gym 2 at St. Francis HS
And that wraps up W3. Thanks for reading and we'll see you Thursday at IFS!