| 2000 RECAP REPORT |
| DRINI CLASSIC |
| 9 |
| JUNE 25, 2000 - DC 2000 TOPS INAUGURAL EVENT The weather for this year's event was beautiful the second time around and the 2000 Drini Classic was another huge success. Pre-Classic hype generated from the new web site and good word of mouth from last year's attendees helped raise the number of teams participating in the Drini Classic to 16 team (up 25 percent) and attracted nearly 70 people for the day-long event. In its first year as a fundraising event, the Drini Classic raised over $500 for the Gamma Gamma chapter's housing fund. In addition to the money generated from the entry fees several brothers made generous donations including Paul Brost, Dave Mehler and Ohio State AKL alumnus, Eric Jenkusky. Two words can describe the game play at this year's Classic - physical and intense. Every play of each game was hotly contested this year and no one got any easy baskets. While a few teams rose to the top or dropped quickly to the basement, their was a strong level of parity and competition overall. Ultimately, a few impressive new comers and several returning standouts lead their teams to the playoffs. The most notable newcomers by far had to be the 3 members of Night Shift. Tom Johnstone, May Patel and Scott Waldman displayed an incredible combination of team work, hustle and skill. The Alpha class trio rattled off an impressive undefeated string before they dropped their first game in the Finals. But their performance assures that no one will take them lightly next year and they will be heavy favorites. Greg Land had people talking in his first performance at the Classic. He dominated inside, owned the boards and was the ultimate intimidator on defense. A late entry into the CLassic, Mike Piga also took the compeition by storm. Piga was a solid role player for Can't Beat the RAP grabbing rebounds, playing tough interior defense, and passing the pall to the guy with the hot hand. Brian Addvensky proved to be a solid scoring compliment to Adam Castro on team Alan Parson's Project. His outside shooting opened up the court for Castro to slash to the basket and his defense on quick guards was impressive. Eric Jenkusky, Matt Spinella, Len Parisi, Lou Marchitto, Rob Derasmo and Marco Dinovella all also had impressive debuts at the Drini Classic. An equally important part of the story at the 2000 Classic had to be the play of a few returning veterans. Early on, the Meathooks looked to be at the brink of elimination after dropping their first two games. But then Mike Kneller stepped up to the plate and carried the team to 3 straight victories and a playoff birth. The streak began with far and away the most dominating performance at this year's Classic. Kneller broke a 3-3 tie and went on to consecutively score 8 of his 10 total baskets including a tightly contested 22 footer with him calling for the ball to give his team an 11-4 upset victory over Can't Beat the RAP. Paul Brost and Drew Miller brought there workman-like attitudes again to this year's Classic. Along with their rookie teammate Len Parisi, these two played tough defense and worked a sound, balance offense. Paul provided much of the scoring load while Drew filled in with big put backs and other intangibles. The team ultimately showed its vulnerability though to speed getting beat by Mike Rodrigues' and Scott Waldman's teams. Jay Cerisini and Casey Mathews also played well and lead there team to a first place finish with an upset victory over the defending champs. However their team suffered a disappointing first round loss in the playoffs. Not surprisingly the Defending Champs combo of Taft and Periera, with the addition of Rob DiTondo, faired well in this year's Classic. Taft penetrated defenses well and Periera made the opposition pay with a solid inside/out game. DiTondo again provided to be an emotional spark and hustled for every lose ball on the court. However, this year the champs didn't have enough answers to stop Castro in the Conference Finals and fell short of repeating. With the addition of Mike Piga, the Alessandrini and Rodrigues duo once again worked well together. Team Can't Beat the RAP rolled to a 4-1 first place record in the regular season. Rodrigues brought his A game all day and gave defenses trouble with his quick feet and explosive offense. Drini worked his post up game to draw double teams and find the open man throughout the day and stepped up his scoring in the playoff rounds. The team looked set to advance past the Conference Finals and get one step farther from a year ago. After trailing 12-6, Can't Beat the RAP rattled off 13 straight points to take a commanding 19-12 lead and pull one basket away from the Finals. But as fate would have it, Mike Piga sprained his ankle and Night Shift came back to score 9 points and got the close win. But ultimately the day belonged to Adam Castro. He lead the Alan Parson's Project to a 4-1 first place regular season record. Brian Addvensky was a solid offensive compliment and Gilman was the inspirational leader - hustling on every play. But after Gilman had to leave for a prior engagement at the end of the regular season, Jon Sackett was substituted in his place causing some controversy. In the playoffs Castro caught fire. He torched teams from behind the arc when left open and beat defenders to the hole when they came out to guard him. Along the way, Castro avenged last year's Finals loss to the Defending Champs and picked up MVP honors for the second straight year and bringing his team the Championship. After the Finals, more than 20 brothers stayed to compete in the 3-point Shootout, while many more stayed to watch and enjoy the post-Classic festivities. While the wind was rough at times, most people shot rather well. The obvious exception would be Seth Levin who turned in a rough 0-15, 0 point performance. In the end, Alvin Huang brought home the 3-Point Championship trophy by edging out Eric Jenkusky with his last shot. Overall, the Classic was a huge success because everyone had such a great time. While the Classic ran smoothly, there was actually a lot of preperation and time involved in running the Classic.The following people need to be recognized for their help. They are Ed Rana, Kerri soon-to-be Johnstone, Mike Rodrigues, Adam Sackett, Jim Opitz, Paul Brost, Keith Gilman, Seth Levin, Mike Kneller, Larry and Jeanne Alessandrini, and Stefani Milne. |
| DRINI CLASSIC ARCHIVES |
| "THE AKL CLASSIC" INFO |