Led by former Whittier College standout point guard Jordan Ramos (7.6 ppg, 5.8 apg) and former UCSD product Alan Husted (22.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg); the upstart Cali Raisin (7-2) look to capture their first IBL Division 1 crown. However standing in the way of such feat; are the reigning champions of the Division Under Rated (6-3) who are led by last season’s Finals MVP Jaime Villalobos (16.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg). The two teams had similar regular seasons, and dominated the first two rounds of the opening rounds, despite what the final score may indicate.
The Raisins secured their spot in the championship game as they defeated the #2 seed Wolfpack after obliterating Dynasty in a high scoring affair (97-81). UnderRated secured their championship berth by taking down the #1 seeded Swisher’s in a 71-68 nail bitter. The Champs led by as many as 20 points for the majority of the game. Under Rated only played one game due to a forfeit by their first round opponent (Most Hated).
Season 11 tipped off with the Raisins coming back from a first half deficit and defeating the defending champs UnderRated (65-61) in Week 1. The teams played well throughout the course of the regular season and opening rounds of the playoffs to get to this point.
Both teams have similar playing styles and match up extremely well with each other. However the game will come down to who can string together defensive stops. The Raisins like UnderRated are like a well oiled fine tuned machine, the chemistry and comradery between the players are excellent and they let their play do the talking so it is only fitting that they play each other for the division’s ultimate prize.
The X-Factor for the Raisins will be the team’s second leading scorer Jaden Radcliffe (14.7 ppg), Radcliffe is a lights out shooter and if he gets hot, Under Rated will be in for a long day. The X-Factor on the Under Rated side of things will be Luke Finalet. Finalet joined the team in the offseason after his former team had disbanded and has meshed well with his new teammates. After struggling in the first two games of the season, Finalet has since hit his stride and is the teams 3rd leading scorer with 12.7 ppg. Finalet can get hot in a hurry so it is important that he gets off to a hot start. Other players playing key roles, will be Victor Lee (12.3 ppg) for the Raisins and Max Barkeley (9.2 ppg, 2.5 apg) for UnderRated. Barkeley hasn’t had his typical double-digit scoring average as he had during his first couple of seasons, but he is still an intricate part of the team. Barkeley’s play making abilities will be huge as his team looks to capture their second consecutive crown.
Players to Watch:
Cali Raisins: Daryl Jones– in the open court no player is more fun to watch than Daryl Jones of the Raisins, he is a walking highlight reel and shot blocking machine.
UnderRated: Jonathan Kaker– Kaker is the team’s fundamentally sound big man. His array of post moves should get him easy baskets and seeing that Kaker had a terrible 1-8 shooting (3 points) performance in Week 1. He will be fueled to take his team over the top. The Road to the Repeat has been long, but the light at the end of the tunnel is only 40 mins away.
IBL Full Court Press 