| 2002 RECAP REPORT |
| DRINI CLASSIC |
 |
 |
| 9 |
| Mishaps, Rain & Injuries Create an Unpredictable Classic for the Ages! A day before the 2002 Drini Classic, things appeared to be set to make this year�s event the biggest and best ever. A record-high 20 teams registered, an all-time high profit for the chapter was projected and the story line was set for some great battles between top powerhouses. Instead, for the second time in three years, would-be participants awoke to cold, rainy weather and the sad news that the Classic would be postponed. This clearly would reduce the number of teams and the money raised, prevent some players from attending and change the chemistry and chances for a few teams. As dreary as things seemed from the outside, things seemed even bleaker within. Already having endured a fiasco with jersey production and some minor controversy over division selection the day before (which was made irrelevant by the postponement), the morning wouldn�t promise to be any better for the Classic staff. They would spend hours online and on the phones instructing everyone about the rain date procedures. Luckily the storm front passed and gave way to a sunny spring day by the next morning. After a slight delay to readjust some rosters and compensate for guys who couldn�t make it, the Classic was able to compile a 16-team tourney. Not record setting, but still a good showing. The action started off big with a thrilling first game between top contenders Stepchildren�s Revenge and Keyser Souze. But moments later, another problem arose and it appeared this Classic couldn�t catch a break. An error occurred when the committee placed teams into divisions, resulting in an unbalanced schedule. Having already played six games it was decided that it was too late to change and it had to be left up to the hoop gods to work itself out. After that the rest of the day proceeded rather smoothly. The top teams produced as expected with AC Expressway and Stepchildren�s Revenge coasting to 5-0 records and Keyser Souze, Rat Pack, Blue Ballah�s and Ghetto Fabulous finishing 4-1. On the flip side, the talent-challenged teams struggled as predicted. Flock of Shaggy, Some Sort of Joke and Offbeat Shenanigans went 0-5, while Last But Not Least was able to notch one win. But these teams didn�t seem to care because they set their sights low. Most were just happy when they avoided shut outs, (just ask Eugene who screamed like a school girl when his team scored a bucket against AC Expressway). While it wasn�t a huge determining factor, the unbalanced schedule did have an impact. Smokey and the Bandits slipped more than expected in the regular season and finished at 3-2. The talented trio of Team PRO drew the toughest schedule playing 3 of the top 5 teams and finished a disappointing 2-3, short of playoff expectations. Thug Life II also had a tough day at 2-3 but snuck in to the playoffs due to the points margin tiebreaker. Several other teams including Hickory Huskers, Baldwin Hill Spacemen and Episode II fell a bit short of their playoff hopes at 2-3. These teams played with heart but in the end couldn�t overcome their lack of talent compared to the top teams. Throughout the day, participants seemed to enjoy the opportunity to visit with friends, sit in the sun, and grub on some food. By noon, several players were seen tapping the keg. Shortly after, the grill was up and running and the smell of burgers and dogs filled the air. The mac salad fiends woofed down all 4 pounds in record time. Being it was the first year guest were invited to bring additional food items, the attendees were also lucky enough to sample some great chili, salads and oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. After the annual half-time entertainment of Mory dunking on the low rim, it was time for the playoffs. If the regular season was rather run of the mill, the playoffs were anything but. A new rule change that increased scoring to 30 points made a huge impact on the action. The # 1 seed Stepchildren�s Revenge won rather easily as expected against # 8 Thug Life 2. Despite a crowd-pleasing Casey Mathews three pointer, the combo of Ara, Cuda and Boner proved too much. The next match up paired # 2 AC Expressway v. # 7 Smokey & the Bandits. Both teams started off slow until Smokey used its height to dominate the boards and a hot Santos went off for a 19-9 lead. Behind a balance scoring attack, AC Expressway scored 16 straight to take a 25-19 lead. But the team was unable to close (something that would comeback to haunt them) and Santos again went off. After Santos missed a short runner in the lane that would have won it, Drini swung it to Castro in the corner who hit the game winning three and avoid perhaps the biggest upset in Classic history. The next game saw # 4 Blue Ballahs go against #5 Ghetto Fabulous. Despite having a talented trio, Blue Ballah�s never seemed to get into rhythm and had a hard time creating offense. Ghetto used its size on the offensive glass and wore down the defense to record a minor upset, 30-16. The final game of the first round was another nail-bitter. # 6 Rat Pack jumped out to a huge lead against # 3 Keyser Souze. Rat Pack was clicking on all cylinders behind the hustle of Langella, the impressive playmaking of newcomer Farrell and the low post game of Marco. The crowd was behind the Pack and erupted when Joe put the ball between Amory�s legs and scored a lay-up to go up by 18 points. But that seemed to wake Keyser Souze and they battled back behind some tough low post scoring from Amory, tenacious defense from Taft and great all around play from Pereira. Surprisingly the semifinals between the Top 4 teams were the least competitive games. Stepchildren�s Revenge dismantled the outmatched Ghetto Fabulous 32-6 behind some great outside shooting and AC Expressway bull rushed Keyser Souze 30-8 behind the scorching hands of Adam Castro and Jim Alessandrini. That set up the Finals match up everyone expected. But to everyone�s shock, the game turned into a blow out real quick. AC Expressway went crazy and scored 22 unanswered points to start the game. Stepchildren battled back slightly with some tough rebounding by Boner but couldn�t get the outside shots to fall. AC Expressway worked the score up to 28-11. The crowd now anticipating certain victory for AC, mumbled about Drini finally winning his own event. On its next possession the team tried to have Drini hit the shot to win his own tourney and electrify the crowd but Boner got a piece of it. A few plays later, as the teams fought for a rebound down low, Boner took a finger to the eye and stumbled to his knees. Observers quickly noticed he was bleeding from his eye and play stopped. After determining the injury was severe, coach Parisi took Boner to the hospital and nearly called the game. Ara and Cuda reluctantly picked up Lou Marchitto as a injury replacement to finish what seemed to be an inevitable AC Expressway victory. Then came the �Drini Curse!� Right off the bat, it was clear this was going to be a tale of two separate games. Ara fired up a 3 and hit it. Then Cuda hit another. Over the next few possessions, Stepchildren continued to hit every shot they took and Lou pulled down every rebound, while AC went dead cold. With the game now close at 28-24, Stepchildren got the ball back and Ara hit a clutch three to pull within one. Just seconds later, Ara pulled up behind a screen at the top of the key and with both Drinis jumping in his face, sent a 22-footer bottom of the net to complete the most unthinkable comeback in Classic history. And just like that it was over. After composing himself, Drini couraged up a smile and present the championship trophies to Stepchildren�s Revenge and name Ara Betchakdjian the 2002 MVP. Drini then thanked the volunteers who made the event possible, and after a friendly hint from Gilman, thanked his wife. Afterwards, many stayed to fill out the awards ballots, eat, drink and compete in the 3-point contest. There was some great shooting in the early rounds, including a Classic record 16 points by Drini (tied Jim�s mark last year) in the semifinals. But in the end Drini was again shut out from owning a trophy, losing to this year�s 3-point champ Adam Castro in the Finals. Looking back, what appeared to spell doom for the Classic early on, eventually worked out for the best. The crappy jerseys, rain out and injuries may have changed the face of the 2002 Classic from what was expected, but it was definitely for the better. We may not have set a meaningless record in registration, but thanks to some generous donations and a discount on the jerseys, we raised more money than ever before ($1,750). So while the well-documented and frustrating title quest of the Classic creator may continue, not even the commish can be disappointed with the fun and excitement of this year�s event. And on the bright side, every year Drini goes without winning a title, guarantees he will organize at least one more Classic. It just goes to show that the unexpected is always much more enjoyable than the predictable. Until 2003! |
|
| DIRECTIONS/CONTACTS |
| STATISTICS & AWARDS |
| NEWS & INFORMATION |
| RULES & REGISTRATION |
 |