Week 9 Game Recaps

3G Capital Investments LLC 61, DRG Talent 54
DRG Talent surprised 3G Capital Investments to start the game with a zone defense that was effective in limiting their scoring to start the game. DRG jumped out to a quick double-digit lead combining their defense on the court (2-3 zone) with their defense off the court (PATH train delays causing Dave Roberts to be late) to hold a solid lead going into halftime.

In the middle of the zone was RBA League Leader in Height, Matan Mann, who held down the middle with 6 blocks to go along with his 14 rebounds. Offensively, DRG was led by Noah Dunn who smoothly got to his spots all night, on his way to 24 points including 5 made from beyond the arc. Adding to the offensive production for DRG was Captain Alex Eisenstein in his return from injury, who made 4 3s of his own.

For 3G, although it took a while to get rolling, they eventually figured out the zone and were able to pull past DRG in the 2nd half. Captain Josh Wohl took advantage of the space afforded by the zone to hit 5 3s on his way to 31 points. Adding to his case for Most Improved Player Jacob GA added 17 points of his own to go alongside a full stat-line including 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists. Rookie Leo Weiner continued his strong play with 6 points and 5 rebounds, including one fast break layup at a crucial juncture to push 3G’s lead to 6.

For 3G they play LDJ this week with a chance to avenge their lone loss on the season and clinch the #1 overall seed. DRG will Sherwood Lumber, needing to win and get some help in other games to avoid the bottom-4. 

Sherwood Lumber 61, Verstolo 33
Verstolo, playing with two subs and without captain Justin Cutler, Emmett Stein, Ethan Coy and Jacob Kaplan-Lipkin, fell to Sherwood Lumber 61-33.

Sherwood took an early lead and never looked back, which caused some collisions on the court. Brian Steinberg contributed 16 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Lumbers, whose record now stands at 6-3.

It was the fourth loss in a row for Verstolo, though I think they still have a chance to get out of the bottom four. But honestly, who knows. There are so many possibilities this week that even Doctor Strange is unsure.

Ben Schluger led Verstolo with 16 points, seven rebounds, one assist and three steals, followed by Ben Green, who tallied seven points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block.

Verstolo falls to 3-6 and plays Elite Pets this week, while Sherwood takes on DRG Talent. 

Glasenglitter 54, Elite Pets 38
Glasenglitter jumped up to just outside of the bottom four in the standings with a 54-38 victory over Elite Pets. This was Glitter's second victory in a row, matching their longest winning streak of the season.

With a nearly full squad for nearly the first time this season, Glasenglitter played suffocating defense to hold the Pets to 26% shooting from the field. Glasenglitter's offense wasn't too shabby either. Max Geller, Jake Fischer, and Josh Rappaport all reached double figures, drawing ill-conceived comparisons to Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and RJ Barrett. "I'm Brunson!" called Geller, initiating a lengthy debate amongst the RBA trio about who was the best RBA/NBA comp. Ultimately Geller prevailed with his initial claim. "I mean, I called it," said Geller. "I called it first. Just like Brunson would've."

Elite will have to quickly lick their wounds and change their litter boxes as the Pets prepare for the postseason. With so many teams fighting for their final playoff seeding in the last week of the season, the playoff scenarios are almost too complicated to calculate. Could this Rak Reshet reporter calculate them? Of course he could. He just won't, for reasons that have nothing to do with his math skills.

TurfTalentNFT.com 46, Accordion 41
In a back-and-forth battle, TurfTalentNFT denied Accordion its first win of the season, winning 46-41.

Turf center Mitchell Silverman got hot in the first half with a few 15-footers, en route to nine points on the evening.

But it was the defense of TurfTalent that shined in this one, with captain Jason Scheff consistently being a pest defensively, while adding a team-high 15 points.

Turf’s defense clamped down at the end of regulation, as Accordion could not buy a bucket, despite drawing two charges. Think about that one.

“I even offered Jason 5 bucks for a bucket,” said Accordion captain Tomer Langer. “He rejected the offer, but we’re still friends.”

Accordion was led by Uri Pearl, who scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed three rebounds.

Despite the so-far winless season, Accordion remains in high spirits heading into the final week of the season.

“We’re having fun, that’s what’s most important, right?” said Accordion forward Daniel Rosenbaum into the mirror in the Chelsea Piers bathroom.

Accordion takes on Glasenglitter this week while TurfTalentNFT plays Brandgenuity.

LDJ 51, Brandgenuity 49 (OT)
LDJ forward Josh Moskow tapped home a buzzer-beating shot to give LDJ the win in an overtime thriller.

LDJ, playing without captain Yaniv Lusana, took an early lead in this one, thanks to the double-headed scoring attack of Harlan Reiss and Evan McCants-Goldman, who finished with 16 and 17 points, respectively.

But Brandgenuity, playing without Eli Grossman, Michael Stern and Jason Jakoby, stormed back, with rookie Jeremy Goodman leading the way, finishing with 26 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal.

However, with ‘Genuity up 49-43 with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, LDJ started a 6-0 run to tie the game and force OT.

“OT, OT, there's never much love when we go OT,” said Drake after the game. “I pray to make it back in one piece. I pray, I pray.”

Drake’s prayers were answered, at least for LDJ, as they notched the victory and put themselves in a position to nab the first overall seed this week should they beat 3G Capital. Though they could also fall out of the top two spots with a loss and other games going certain ways that are hurting my head to write out.

Brandgenuity still has a chance for a top-two spot but will need a win this week against TurfTalentNFT plus some help from other games.