| MY TWO CENTS... |
| The past seven weeks have been a fulfilling, mind-opening, and very fun experience. But on the flip side of the coin I have gone through alot of bullshit. Just a whole bunch of little things but bullshit nonetheless. Like trying to find a suitable way to keep score (damn that dry erase board). Or taking criticism on the rules-- 6 foot rule and the 2 nonasian rule. Or driving around endlessly trying to round up team dues so i could pay the refs. Or calculating yalls stats to put on this website (thank the lord for microsoft excel). Or putting up with people thinking im making some big dough by organizing the league. Or watching teams have fun playing while i gotta sit there and look pretty keeping the score (i aint vanna white). And people making open-ended promises... But I wouldnt trade the experience for anything. I got to play a little bit of ball with all the teams at the end of the day and i got to know alot of cool cats who i never really knew before. And by no means did I put this league together myself. I dont have enough room to list the people who have helped along the way. If you ever offered advice or made a suggestion or complaint or helped push the bleachers in or helped keep score or even just signed the guestbook-- good lookin out. And a big, fat shout to the players who always played tough on gameday-- we Asians dont get too tall, but the heart and hustle is bigger than anyones. Also the support and compliments on the league make it all worthwhile. And the girls throwing their panties at me is pretty cool too (just playin baby). So a big up to everybody for making the league a success. WE ALL have something we can be proud of. Its cool that us younger folks in the area can organize something for the whole comunity-- filipinos, chinese, korean, vietnamese, black, and white (or whatever the hell you are)-- chill out and play ball in an organized and civil manner. Like i said since the beginning: the league is more than just basketball. Yeah... the league has its flaws and will always have flaws. But with continued support we'll be all good. All the bs was worth it to get the league going. After all, with enough of shit you can grow a pretty nice garden. But i think i like all the shit the job calls for because now i bring to you my picks for the NAABL PLAYOFFS. I know im gonna hear it from some people but... i dont give a fuck. So here is the truth spoken by yours truly: |
| SEMI-FINAL A: #4 Raptors VS. #1 United The Raptors have been playing inspired team basketball as of late with the leadership and offensive capabilities of the league's leading scorer, Mel Right (18.8 ppg). Also David Erichetto has proven his worth time and again by getting the whole team involved with deft passing and creating turnovers with his pesky defense. The Raptors seem to be making all the right decisions by not forcing shots, making the extra pass, and going to Right when a big bucket is called for. Raptors also get the job done with stingy defense (league leading 43.9 ppg) and accurate foul shooting (64.5 % FTs, 2nd in the league). Much of their success will hinge upon the health of Kevin Parks, their big man in the middle who gobbles up boards and pounds away down low. Parks is recovering from a high ankle sprain. United is the juggernaut of the league, going undefeated in the season. They work with machine-like precision making few mistakes and making the team they are playing adjust to their style of play in which they pound the ball down low to Joy Arenas (15.7 ppg, 3rd) and Craig Bynum. And if that doesnt work for them, which is rare, they have co-three point champ Andy Sanderson bustin threes from the outside (13 threes, 11.4 ppg, 6th), Kokoy Marisigan penetrating the lane (10.8 ppg, 9th), and Kenny Hermoso picking up the slack when the team needs it (9.1 ppg, 12th). United's team defense is second in the league and they take advantage of their trips to the foul line, shooting an NBA-like 70.8% from the stripe. Opposing teams dont know what angle to defend: Arenas, Sanderson, Marisigan, and Hermoso have all scored over 20 points in a game this season. MY PICK: United has too much size and too many weapons. UNITED by 10 pts. 55-45 SEMI-FINAL B: #3 Passions VS. #2 Red Storm The Passions have been playing brilliantly winning their last three games of the regular season. Their team seems to be clicking just in time for the playoffs and they are always capable of putting up points in a hurry with Jun Madera (11.1 ppg, 8th; 9 threes, 5th) running the point and setting the pace for their uptempo offense and also getting steals on defense. Ryan Driggers (14.0 ppg, 4th) has been the backbone of the offense for most of the season, getting hot in spurts with his midrange jumpers and drives to the lane. A welcome surprise to the team has been the bust-ass play of Bugs Relopez (9.6 ppg, 11th) who gets his points by roaming the baseline and playing big although usually outsized down low. Jay Gundran also gets his on offense but more importantly he protects the lane on defense and swats away unwelcome shots downlow. Jekyll and Hyde of the league. Sometimes you dont know which Red Storm team is gonna show up: the dominating team which wins by putting up points in bunches from inside and out, plays stifling defense, and outhustles and outmuscles their opponents. Or the other team which bickers amongst itself, takes ill-advised shots, plays lackadaisical defense, and plays like it doesnt care. Fortunately, Joe Flores is back to help regain the team's composure. Flores (15.8 ppg, 2nd) plays an unspectacular but bruising type of basketball, simply eating up defensive boards and picking up offensive rebounds allowing for easy buckets. Ant Bynum (10.7 ppg ) adds an athletic element to the team by getting in the lane, getting steals, and finishing on fast breaks. Chev Zaporteza (13 threes, tied for 1st) stabilizes the half court offense with smart, accurate passes and long-range threes. Ron Gozum (11 threes) also gets his from beyond the arc. Vance Hayes is the steadying force for the Red Storm, rarely turning the ball over, setting the pace for the offense, and making the right decisions at the point. MY PICK: Word is that Driggers aint gonna be there. I was gonna pick Red Storm anyways. But now by 16. RED STORM 67-51. CONSOLATION A: #8 G Stars VS. #7 Sharks The G Stars, though still stuck in their losing ways, have improved greatly near the end of the season. They have finally found a line up that works and can put some points on the board. BJ Macalino is the key to the offense driving to the lane with persistence and going to the line just as much. Lil brother JR Macalino and Phil Ratcliffe (5 threes, 6th) have both stepped up their level of play at the end of the season having big games in a close contest against the Dope Squad to keep it close during the final game of the regular season. JB Balanza has also been a welcome force for the constantly outrebounded and outmuscled G Stars downlow. The G Stars wished there was a second half of the season because they were definitely a second half team during the year averaging 14 pts in the first half of games and 24.1 pts in the second half of games. The Sharks have stayed tough during a disappointing year. They are at their best when they decide to move the ball around and feed inside to their big boys. But that didnt happen enough during the season. And sometimes it seemed as if the Sharks were happy just finishing the game. They made it easy for defenses by taking quick shots. Shots that just didnt fall enough. Emmet Forbes (13.2 ppg, 5th) was the most consistent offensive contributor, keeping the games competitive. The defense was tough especially with Alex Lee swatting everything within arms reach. But there arent enough defensive plays you can make to overcome a league low 36.6 ppg. One bright spot in the season was their victory over the playoff-bound Raptors. MY PICK: I dont care what yall say. The G Stars have shaped up. G Stars by 8. G STARS 44-36. CONSOLATION B: #6 Dope Squad VS. #5 Skyhigh The Dope Squad was a crowd favorite during the season because they kept it a tight game no matter who they played. Unfortunately for them, they couldnt seem to pull through at the end. They gave United their toughest game of the season losing by just 3. And then they would labor against the G Stars winning barely by 2 pts. Jerome Kubalewski (11.4 ppg) was nasty downlow, overpowering every big man in the league and constantly going to the free throw line, without much success though (14 out of 30; second most attempts in the league). Rob Corsino was the floor general getting his fair share of rebounds, hitting big buckets, and providing vocal, if not vulgar, inspiration when it was needed. The sparkplug of the team was Jose Malpaya (5 threes, 6th) who got hot in spurts and, like the rest of the Dope Squad, played pesky defense until the final buzzer. Dope Squad's biggest flaw was their inability to hit free throws, shooting just 39.5% for the season. Skyhigh got off to a promising start winning their first two games of the season but tailed off near the end when the competition got a little tougher. Skyhigh had a lot of talented athletes who showed flashes of brilliance at times but the shine didnt last for the whole game. Kool Aid Kauflin definitely had the most ups in the league showcasing his flight pattern more than a couple times. Lee Harrelson was the teams leading scorer (7.4 ppg) in a well balanced offense. The defense was intense but made too many mistakes giving up easy buckets. MY PICK: Skyhigh could have went a long way if they were just a little more polished as a team. Athletic ability alone earned them three wins. But Skyhigh has no answer for Kubes downlow and Dope Squad's teamwork and tough defense should be enough to earn their 3rd win. DOPE SQUAD 38-30. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: As flashy and exciting as the Red Storm offense may be, less glamorous things like hard-nosed defense and clutch foul shooting is gonna win United the first NAABL Championship. UNITED in a barn-burner 66-62. Im sure yall will let me know when Im wrong but good luck to all the players. See you at the gym. |
| MY PICKS... |
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| ARCHIVES 16 |