Day 2 of the NAABL was more exciting than the first. All the games were pretty damn close. Well... almost all of them. Its obvious that teams are still trying to get accustomed to some new teammates and trying to get some chemistry. But nontheless, there has been great individual efforts, outstanding team play, and good sportsmanship during all the games that have been played.
The Dope Squad and Skyhigh squared off in Game 1. Both teams had close games last week and things didnt get any easier on Day 2. Skyhigh looked dominating through most of the first half and looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory. But those young cats on the Dope Squad never quit, stepped up their pesky defense, and forced turnovers. The lead changed hands several times in the second half. But Skyhigh, with three players in double figures, prevailed 39-36 (Mike Mooney, Arthur Taylor, and Ray Limpkin all had 10). The Dope Squad was led by Rob who had 11 including a three and Mark who had just 8 points but hit two big threes in key parts of the game to keep it tight.
Game 3 featured two teams looking for their first win, the Sharks and Raptors. Both halves of play were extremely close but unfortunately for the Raptors the Sharks won both halves. Sharks win 40-37 led by Emmet Forbes and Dennis Laxa who had 10 points apiece. But Terry Eusebio and Mike Do both hit threes in the second half to fend off the Raptors relentless comeback. The Raptors were led in scoring by Mike Marasigan who hit em up for 13 and Dave Errichetto who had 9 points including a three and a handful of nice passes.
Game 3 was an old fashioned shootout with United having the bigger gun. It looked as if United was going to cruise early on but you almost expected the Passions to comeback which they did. Things got heated early and often between the players and a warning was given by the refs. Both teams continued to play tough ball but once again big boy Joy Arenas came through with another dominating game. After the smoke cleared Arenas finished with 23 and United won 59-52. Not only was Arenas practically unstoppable but he was clutch hitting 6 foul shots in a row at the end of the game to sink the Passions (he finished 7/8 from the line, all in the second half). He had help from Andy who hit 3 three pointers and finished with 11. Jun Madera (17 pts, 1 three, 4/6 Fts) and Ryan Driggers (14 pts and a bucket of boards) stepped up to the challenge but fell short.
After all the close games you figure there had to be an ugly one. And this one was it. The Red Storm and the G Stars faced off for the final game of the day. The Red Storm had an absolutely amazing game on both offense and defense and the G Stars just got caught in the middle of it all. Red Storm 75-37. All the players scored for the Red Storm except for one, and 4 threes were made. Scoring was led by Ant Bynum's 18, and Joe Flores' 15 and complete board domination underneath. But most impressive was the Red Storm's torturous defense which forced turnover after turnover. After a 31-17 first half lead, the Red Storm cruised outcoring the usually fiery and competitive G Stars 44-20 in the second half. Easy baskets were rare for the G Stars and the tight defense seemed to extinguish any hopes for a comeback. (That wasnt too harsh.)
Good luck next week to all the teams. |
