Week 1 HEADLINES
- Dynasty shakes off a rusty start and defeat Primetime handily.
- Do Work starts their post championship season off with a W over the Dictators.
- Cali Raisins Defeat the reigning D2 Champs Wonton Soup 61 – 56
- The Thunder shakes up IBL with their 111 point début.
- Jaybron goes H.A.M with the Prospectz.
Dynasty vs. Primetime
These two teams met in the Semi Finals of the playoffs last season with Primetime coming out on top and ending the former champs run to a 3-peat. However this was a new season, Dynasty did not look like they were in sync early in the game, as they were plagued by turnovers early in the first half.
Primetime was on fire from the start, hitting from all over the court. Troy Allen, Dung Dang and Rashad Martin finished the game with 46 of the teams 58 points. Rashad Martin also added 9 rebounds to the mix but was unable do get into a consistent ofensive flow.
Dewayne O’Neal (27 points), Derrick (17 points) and Dianthe Pickett (13 points), carried the scoring load for Dynasty as they combined for 57 of their teams 69 points. Dewayne O’Neal was a force on the boards as he finished the game with 10 boards.
Don’t sleep on Dynasty this season folks, they are back and better than ever, with the addition of big man Andrew Hacker they look to make noise this season as they look to avenge their IBL D1 Championship.
Do Work vs. Dictators
Do Work’s defense was game on point. They did not let Dictators have their way even though the Dictators had a height advantage. Even with the absence of Do Works big man Drake Walker every shot contested and every rebound snatched by Do Work players.
Do Works, Donte Smith did go off for a game high 28 points; however he was not the only Do Work player that hit double-digit scoring. Kenneth Ubom added 14 points, while Dominic S. rounded out the scoring load with 12 points fueled by the 3 point shot.
The Dictators had 3 players in double digits; Sean T with 25 , Ian M with 13 and Chris T with 12. They made it interesting down the stretch as they kept the game close but Do Work refused to let the Dictators go on a run without an answer. Every run by the Dictators was answered by a Do Work run.
Cali Raisins vs. Wonton Soup
The Cali Raisins and Wonton Soup developed a rivalry early on in Season 3 and that rivalry only intensified when Wonton Soup won the Division Championship last season.
The game was close throughout, but in the second half things got a bit chippy with a brief altercation with the players. Both teams added new faces to their respective teams and the additions did their job with Dylan of the Cali Raisins getting the upper hand scoring a team high 18 points and guiding the team to a 7 point victory over the champs. He was the only player to score double figures for the Raisins.
Wonton Soup however had a very balanced attack with Aaron Sanchez leading all scorers with 22 points and adding 3 rebounds The Light Skin Ken Josh Johnson added 10 points and Robel Kevorkian rounded out the top scorers with 9 points and 3 rebounds.
This is not how Wonton Soup pictured their post championship season starting, they must improve on their defense. Giving up 61 points to the Raisins is a lot seeing that in the championship game they held the leagues highest scoring team Double Dribble to their lowest point total.
Lets see how both teams come out next week.
Thunder sets IBL record for points in a game.
The Thunder made their IBL début this past sunday sending a message to every team in the league, they scored 111 points and had a dominant performance over the Tropics.
The Thunder came out with their trapping defense and a nasty press that made it difficult for the Tropics to cross the halfcourt line. The Thunder had 6 players in double figures, they are young, athletic and hungry to show the IBL that they are here to stay. I really don’t think this huge out burst was a fluke.
Anthony Cockrell led all scorers 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Mikal Abdullah added 21 points and 6 rebounds and Xavier Goss added 17 points and 3 rebounds.
I credit the Tropics as they did not back down and played it out until the final horn.
Around The LEAGUE
DIVISION 2
Regulators vs. Southstars
In the opening game to tip-off season 4, the Southstars pulled out a close one over the Regulators 47-44.
The Southstars led by Trayvonn Booker as he finished with a game high 15 points, 17 rebounds. Anthony F. assisted with the scoring load and added 7 rebounds and he finished with 11 points. The rest of the team combined for just 21 points.
Brandon T. led all Regulator players with 13 points and 5 rebounds while Demetre Smith added 11 points. Ashford B. scored 8 points and he finished with 7 rebounds. The Southstars dominated the boards and in the final moments on the game found themselves come out loose balls to extend/reset their possessions.
Hoop Dreams vs. Soak City!
The 6pm game featured Hoop Dreams led by Solin Bit take on the new IBL franchise Soak City led by Junior Muntu. Hoop Dreams pulled out a 55-51 victory.
Hoop Dreams were led by Anthony B. as he finished with a game high 21 points. Matt D. and Nico . assisted with the scoring load as they both finished with 10 points apiece.
Vince P. led all Soak City players with 20 points and 7 rebounds while GM Junior Muntu added 13 points and 5 rebounds. Eric I. rounded out the top 3 team scorers for Soak City as he finished with 7 points. The rest of the team (5 players) did not have a player score more than 3 points.
Nothin’ But Nets vs. Warriors
The Warriors dominated Nothin’ but Nets in their first game of the season 54-32.
With their sour exit from the last seasons playoffs still on their minds the Warriors entered their game with a new mindset, “Dominate early in the season, and get a high playoff seed”. They were led in scoring by Kemoy Mathis as he finished with a game high 17 points and 9 rebounds. The Cole Trio chipped in a combined 28 points as Lester and Louis finished with 10 a piece while Domo added his 8 points and 9 rebounds
Nothin’ But Nets and their football sized roster finished the game with only one player in double figures in the scoring column. Anthony P. finished the game with 13 points and 3 rebounds while Charles added 7 points.
The Warriors seemed to control every aspect of the game and won every statistical battle.
DIVISION 1
Fly Society vs. Knicee
Both teams met in their last regular season game last season with Knicee coming out on top with the victory, although this was a new season and new day for Fly Society the result would stay the same as Knicee captured a 53-45 victory.
Knicee was led by John Dang as he finished with a game high 15 points. Odell Howard added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Lavant Fuller finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Desean Collins got back to his old scoring ways as he led his team in scoring for the first time in a long time with 13 points, Robert Aguilar helped Collins with the scoring load as he added his 11 points. Last seasons MVP Jaime Villalobos was virtually absent all game as he got in foul trouble early and could never really get into an offensive flow as he finished with 7 points and had 4 fouls.
This is a quality for Knicee as they look to push through the season without their leader, who is out with a season ending injury.
STAT vs. HIDP
STAT overcomes a scoreless second quarter and out score Hard in da Paint 38-16 in the second half to come out with a 46-32 victory.
Hard in da Paint was led by Ben A. as he finished with a team high 13 points. Lamar Patton added 7 points and 4 rebounds while Domo Criss finished with 3 points and 5 rebounds
Tyrell Goldsberry finished with a game high 15 points as he took over the scoring load for STAT in the 3rd quarter, Kwasi Mensah was the only other player in double figures as he finished with 10 points .
Both teams took time to get acclimated to their new teammates but in the end STAT prevailed with the victory.
Featured Player
Jaybron GOES H.A.M
Jason JAYBRON JAMES Trinh simply went H.A.M this past sunday in his game with the D2 Prospectz he recorded 16 points and 6 assists and guided the Prospectz to a double-digit victory, he is simply the hottest D1 free agent on the market, teams if you want a point guard that will go H.A.M every game let him know.
IBL Full Court Press 