Nate’s Notes| Division 2 |Semi-Finals| Game Preview

The Division 2 Semi Finals will feature 4 teams. Two from the Eastern Conference (#3 Quiksilver-#1 Eagles) while in the Western Conference (#1 Wonton Soup-#2 Dream Team)
Will battle it out for a chance to represent the conference in the championship game.

The Eagles and Quiksilver will square off in a rematch of the first game of the season where Quiksilver came out victorious (63-59). That would be the only game the Eagles would lose in the regular season, they tallied 6 consecutive victories to end the regular season with a (6-0) record and the #1 overall seed in the conference. Quiksilver on the other hand had a similar season losing only two games and finished with a (5-2) record and the #3 seed.

Quiksilver has stormed through their playoff opponents while the Eagles almost fell to the #4 seed the Secret Agents in the conference semi-finals, while Quiksilver is seeking their first trip back to the finals since defeating Hollyway in Season 2, the Eagles are in their rookie season and have surpassed anyones expectations by far.

Both teams match-up well in terms of size, but the one advantage that the Eagles have, being stacked with shooters, the Imperio brothers lead the team in 3-Point makes. Eric Imperio will not be 100% for the game as he suffered an ankle injury in the semi final game against the Secret Agents. Quiksilver will have to put a hand up on defense or their season will end.

This game should be intriguing to say the least, however the winner of this game will be the “underdog” in the finals.

In the Western Conference two powerhouse teams will battle it out for the right to represent the conference in the Divisions final.
The #1 seeded Wonton Soup (7-0) will battle it out with the #2 seed the Dream Team (6-1), the two teams met in Week 5 with Wonton Soup coming out on top with a. 64-55 win.

Wonton is in pursuit of their 3rd straight finals appearance where they are (2-0) in previous trips. Both teams have had their fair share of “scares” in the playoffs thus far. The Dream Team almost didn’t make it to this game, they defeated the Cali Raisins in the conference semi’s with a tip-in as time expired, while Wonton Soup withstood every blow that Double Dribble could throw at them.

Both these teams are equipped with a roster that has a championship pedigree. Wonton Soup has had the same roster for 3 seasons with the exception of (Robel Kevorkian, Desean Collins, and Jaime Villalobos) who joined them after their first championship run in Season 3.

The Dream Team doesn’t really have a post presence, in fact all of their players are about the same height. The majority of their scoring is done from the 3-Point line (50 3-Pt Makes) for the season. They exploit other teams on the defensive end by using their quickness which leads to tons of fast break opportunities.

Wonton Soup has 3 offensive options, Jaime Villalobos (13.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg) Desean Collins (8.6 ppg) and Aaron Sanchez (18.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg). In the Semi Finals Sanchez (6 Pts., 7 Rbs) had an off game but Collins (15 Pts) and Villalobos (24 Pts, 11 Rbs) picked up the slack.

Wonton Soup should take the game if all their players show, however you should not count out the Dream Team, they are a resilient bunch hungry to win and defeating their rivals with a trip to the finals at stake would make it all that much sweeter.

Eastern Conference Final	PTS	REB	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	2PT%	3PT%	FG%	FT%
Advantage	E	Q	Q	E	E	E	E	–	E	E
Eagles	69.5	36.9	6.9	4.4	1.5	4.6	0.53	0.34	0.47	0.58
Quiksilver	55.6	38.1	7.9	4.3	1.4	8.8	0.48	0.34	0.45	0.50

Western Conference Final	PTS	REB	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	2PT%	3PT%	FG%	FT%
Advantage	W	W	W	D	W	D	D	D	D	W
Wonton Soup	66.9	31.5	6.4	4.1	1.9	6.9	0.59	0.29	0.46	0.60
Dream Team	63.6	24.7	4.7	5.4	1.7	5.1	0.63	0.34	0.51	0.46

Division 2 Champion will be crowned when East meets West.

Nates Notes| Playoff Preview | Division 2

#5 The Revenge vs. #8 5 Guys 1 Cup

With the #1-#4 Seeds having first round byes , #5 seed The Revenge open up the Division 2 playoffs when they take on the #8 seeded 5 Guys 1 Cup. This is the first playoff appearance for both teams, the winner of this game will take on the #4 seed the Secret Agents in a match-up later in the evening.

The Revenge enter the game led by Max Andrade (12.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG), Hassan Ahmed (12.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG), and Aaron Ford (8.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG). Ahmed is the perennial 3-point shooter for this team, he led the team in makes for the regular season with 12. Andrade is the muscle in the post, the majority of his baskets come in the paint or after a missed shot. Ford assists Andrade in the front court as they do most of the dirty work for this team.

On the other side of things for the #8 seeded 5 Guys 1 Cup, they weren’t predicted to be in this position, I don’t think they had any idea that after their 1-3 start to the season. Their Week 7 victory over the #JETS (68-58) gave them enough points to win the point differential battle over (Fab 7, X-Men, and Fly High) which landed them in the #8 spot. Alex Hernandez has led the charge for this team, he finished the regular season averaging (17.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG) on of the key reasons that 5 Guys improved was due to the fact that they acquired PG Jose Vasquez (11.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.2 APG). Vasquez was the illusive ball handler that set this team over the top, they transformed from a yakking up 3 point shots to running pick and rolls and dribble drive penetration leading to and one baskets.  Castro is the 3rd leading scorer on this team he finished the season averaging a double-double (10.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG).

Although 5 Guys 1 Cup is the #8 seed I have a feeling they might send The Revenge home, the offensive potential for this team is limitless. Both teams are equipped with 3 point shooters and can rebound the ball reasonably well.  I see 5 Guys 1 Cup advancing to the second round to take n the #4 Secret Agents. 

#6 UKnow vs. #7 Benchwarmers

When these two teams met in Week 6, it was a heated battle, both teams were fighting for a playoff berth at the time and the winner of that game would clinch a berth while the other would have to enter Week 7 in a must win predicament. The Benchwarmers came out with a 50-46 victory. UKnow recovered from the defeat quickly and defeated the #3 seeded Quiksilver in Week 7 to clinch a playoff berth.

UKnow is one of the more inconsistent, yet talented young teams in the conference. It seems that every week you get a different team, in terms of team chemistry and offensive/defensive rhythm. Anthony Cockrell (18.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG) leads the way for this team, Byron Woods (12.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG) proved to be a great asset and tremendous offseason pick-up for this young team. The two have led this team to the #6 spot and a chance to get revenge on the #7 Benchwarmers. UKnow started the season with a 9 man roster but will most likely field a roster of 5-7 players for their playoff run due to some players not having enough regular season games played ( Xavier Goss, and Solin Bit).  Their Week 7 victory over Quiksilver was with only 5 players and stellar defense being played.

The Benchwarmers enter this playoff game with many things to wonder, after their Week 6 victory over UKnow (50-46) they were in the #4 spot until Week 7 came about where they took on the #1 seeded Eagles. The game with the Eagles was not in any way a pretty game, the Eagles won by 66 points (112-46). In Week 2 the Eagles defeated UKnow by 12 points (59-47). So in a way UKnow should have defeated the Benchwarmers in Week 6. The Benchwarmers are led in scoring by Des F. (15.8 PPG), Charlie Iem (11.0 PPG) and Steven Iem (10.5 PPG). Sophand Soun leads the team in rebounds with 53 rebounds through 7 games, he is also averaging (9.3 PPG)

IF and I repeat IF UKnow can repeat their gutsy Week 7 performance they will indeed get this win and move on to play the #3 seeded Quiksilver team, however if UKnow has another defensive lapse kind of game look for the Benchwarmers to come out with the victory. 

#5 Happy Hour vs. #8 West Coast 

The two teams met in Week 6 with West Coast getting the better of Happy Hour and coming out with a 57-45 win. Both these teams have the potential to win a championship, it’s a shame that only one will be remaining after this opening round playoff game.

Happy Hour is filled with 3-point shooters, they run several offensive sets through the game and their main goal throughout the game is to get their teammates involved. The are led by Reuben Medina (17.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG), James Reyes (12.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG, Ben Bonja (11.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG) and Pierre Recinto (11.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG). Thats 4 players averaging double figures in the scoring column, I didn’t get to see much of Happy Hour throughout the season, however I did catch their Week 7 game with the Dream Team where they came up just short of pulling out a victory.

West Coast is led by Zeke Benedetti aka Nico who finished the regular season averaging (16.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG), Anthony Barajas is a crucial post presence and will snatch any rebound that comes his way, he is the second leading scorer on this team averaging (13.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG). Benedetti and Barajas seem to have this chemistry while they are out on the court together, they look for each other as teammates should. Darnell leads the team in rebounds with (7.7 RPG) and is a tough defender.

This is my MUST SEE game in the first round for division 2, both teams can score as well as defend, the better team shall prevail. 

#6 Cali Raisins vs. #7 Brea Jr. 7:30

The #6 Cali Raisins return to action to take on the #7 seeded Brea Jr. 7:30 in the first round of the playoffs. Both teams seemed to have a “bye” week in Week 7 the Raisins were/are vacationing in Miami while Brea Jr. 7:30 took the court to battle it out with Wonton Soup but never really took the court…losing by 69 points (100-31).

The Raisins clinch their playoff berth in Week 6 and played the waiting game to see what spot they would end up in. After all Week 7 games played out and tie breakers were broken the team landed in the #6 spot. They are led by Jordan Ramos (14.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.0 APG), Kevin Chow (9.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG) and Kwasi Mensah (7.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG). Ramos is a do-it all point guard with remarkable foot speed and WILL cause havoc on the fast break.

Brea Jr. 7:30 is led by Won Lee (13.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG), Max Chung (8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG), and Jacob Kang (8.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG) they’ve mustered up a 4-3 record, and may have the potential to make it as far as the second round. This team lacks height and a “go-to player” their Week 7 loss to Wonton Soup just shows that they aren’t at the level as the other D2 élite teams, they may have had a favorable schedule to finish with a 4-3 record.

The Raisins will come out with a victory in this game, any team that loses by 60+ with all there players in the line-up just does not belong in the playoffs. 

 

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+ Game Previews, recaps and write-ups are articles written by Nathan Apolonio.