2011 SUMMER, SEASON 5
Week 5
by Nathan Apolonio/ @NDAx92
STAT vs. Knicee
DIVISION 1
Since their buzzer beater win in Week 1 over Fly Society (46-45) , and a 4th quarter lapse in Week 2 to lose to the reigning champs Morningwood (56-50), STAT has blown out their opponents by an average of 21.0 ppg and have solidified themselves as the second best team in the division. Their Week 5 match-up with then 3-1 Knicee seen STAT just outplay the previously #2 ranked team and come away with a 56-40 victory.
For Knicee things have been the opposite, they started the season 3-0 and ran into a hungry Morningwood team in Week 4 to record their first loss of the season 69-63. The bright spot for Knicee this season besides their potential playoff berth has been the guard play of Marcus Angeles (23.3 ppg) and John Dang (15.6) they have been the cornerstone of the offense, Angeles was not present in the loss to STAT so with his presence the game could have swung in either direction.
In the Week 5 game with Knicee; STAT was led by Danny Longmire 15 points, 12 rebounds. Anthony Fitzpatrick finished with 13 points and 8 boards, Brandon Kinard rounded the top 3 scorers with 11 points, 3 assists. Jimmy Nguyen was really that spark for STAT as he busted the game open shooting 3/7 from 3 point range to finish with 9 points.
With the absence of the teams leading scorer Marcus Angeles a dimension of Knicee’ offense was not there, the returning Lionel Brown was the only Knicee player who seemed to feel the game offensively, he finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds. John Dang was the second leading scorer for Knicee as he finished with 5 rebounds and 10 points, big man Odell Howard was a non factor in this game, he finished with 7 points and 8 rebounds.
STAT (4-1) moves into Week 6 on a 3 game win streak where they will take on Canyon City Basketball (1-4), this team could easily be 5-0 and the only undefeated team in the division, with their one loss coming at the hands of the defending champs (Morningwood) by 6 points in Week 2.
Knicee (3-2) now goes back to the drawing board as they try to regroup after their second consecutive loss. However the 2 losses have come to the two teams above them in the standings, they will take on the #4 ranked (3-2) Do Work in Week 6 to break the tie for the #3 spot in the division.
Canyon City Basketball vs. Dictators
DIVISION 1
The Dictators manage to squeeze out their first victory as they defeat Canyon City Basketball 56-51.
Canyon City Basketball was led by Phil Conklin 21 points, 9 rebounds. Travis Campbell finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and Sergio Serna rounded out the scoring trio with his 8 points.
The Dictators had a dominant performance from Lonnie , he finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds with the majority of his buckets coming in the paint. Sam finished with 13 points, 3 boards while Andrew finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds to round out the scoring trio for the Dictators.
The Dictators (1-4) are still very much in the playoff hunt, but they do not control their own destiny, they need other teams to record more L’s or else their season is over. The Dictators will take on (2-3) IBall in Week 6.
Canyon City (1-4) now falls to the #10 spot behind the Dictators and Speed Kills. They will take on the #2 ranked STAT (4-1) team that is chasing the #1 spot in Week 6.
Do Work vs. Morningwood
DIVISION 1
In their second game without SF Derrick Pickett (9.8 ppg), the game came down to the wire for Morningwood as Do Work had a chance to steal the game but Morningwood sealed the game in the final seconds with clutch free throws, to come away with a 54-48 victory to maintain their flawless 5-0 record.
The champs have had a “weather the storm” kind of season so far, every obstacle they’ve seemed to overcome. They remain the only undefeated team in the division; defeating the 5 teams below them in the standings, Dewayne O’Neal (16.4 PPG, 12.8 RPG) is leading the team in scoring this season as he is the cornerstone to their offense. Diahnte Pickett is having a breakout season averaging (13.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG), they have been the cornerstone to Morningwoods success this season.
Do Work was one of the top teams for 2 seasons in the IBL, however this summer season has seen an overhaul of their roster as only 3 players (Dominic Smith, Aaron Singleton, Aaron W.) remain from their championship season in Season 3. They sit at (3-2) and with one more win will clinch a playoff berth. If this team wants any shot of making a little noise in the playoffs (if they even make the playoffs), they should regain the services of leading scorer Donte Smith (27.0 PPG) who has silently retired from IBL play.
In their Week 5 game with Morningwood, Do Work was led by Dominic Smith 17 points, 6 rebounds 3/8 from 3 point range. Josh and Edwin had 10 points apiece to round out the top 3 scorers. Edwin finished with 10 rebounds also to record a double-double.
Dewayne O’Neal led all scorers for the game, he finished with 22 points, 16 rebounds . Diahnte Pickett finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds. Those were the only two scorers that scored in double figures for Morningwood. With Pickett out of the line-up scoring should be at a minimum for 3-Pt threats Rich Cobarrubias and Marcus Pringle as they usually feed of Pickett’s drive and kicks, in Week 5 Cobarrubias finished with 6 points shooting 2-7 from 3 point range. Pringle finished with 4 points but made up for his lackluster performance on the boards with 9 rebounds.
Injury Update:
SF Derrick Pickett is recovering smoothly and will be out for 3-5 more Weeks.
Morningwood (5-0) enters Week 6 as the only undefeated team in the Division, they’ll take on a slumping Fly Society squad (2-3).
Do Work (3-2) takes on Knicee (3-2) in Week 6 as both teams look to lock themselves into that #3 spot in the standings.
I Ball vs. Washed Up
DIVISION 1
Washed Up and I Ball go back and forth all game with Washed Up coming out on top 39-38 in this offensive struggle of a game. I Ball had a chance to win with 2 seconds left on the clock, an I Ball player threw up a baseline heave that went in but it was after the buzzer had sounded.
Richard Coombs led Washed Up with 10 points, 6 rebounds, but was forced to sit out the majority of the 4th quarter after suffering an ankle injury. Tony finished with 3 rebounds, assist and he was the second leading scorer with 7 points. Mike Criscione was the third leading scorer with 6 points.
Wilson Fiallos notched a team-high 17 points and pulled in 4 rebounds . Tony Bell chipped in 13 points and 8 rebounds. The rest of I Ball was almost non-existent in the game as the combined for 8 points.
Washed Up (3-2) have slid into the #5 spot in the standings looks to continue their winning ways in Week 6, as they take on Speed Kills (1-4)
I Ball (2-3) enters Week 6 in the #6 spot, they take on the (1-4) Dictators in Week 6.
Speed Kills vs. Fly Society
DIVISION 1
Since the arrival of newly acquired teammate Larry Thompkins (10.5 ppg) in Week 3 things haven’t been a walk in the park for Fly Society. Fly Society was predicted to be a viable contender in the division at the start of the season. However they have been dominated by Rookie teams such as ( Washed Up-Fly Society 79-60) in Week 3 and ( IBall-Fly Society 62-47) in Week 4. In Week 5 Fly Society was looking to get back to their winning ways as they took on the #8 ranked Speed Kills ( 1-3) in Week 5. No one predicted and or expected this game to go down to the wire, but it did and Fly Society came crawling out of this heated battle with a 62-60 victory in overtime.
GM Tony El-Asar led the way for Speed Kills with 18 points, 3 rebounds shooting an efficient 5/9 from the field. Di’mon Phelps was the second leading scorer with 14 points, he also hit the crucial three-point basket to send the game into overtime. André was the third leading scorer as he finished with 12 points to round out the scoring trio.
Ralph Chavez led all Fly Society scorers with 24 points, 14 rebounds on (11/17) shooting. Jaime Villalobos pulled in 11 rebounds and finished with 10 points. Jairo Lopez was the third leading scorer as he finished with 16 points, 1 board. The rest of the Fly Society roster combined for 12 points.
Fly Society will enter week 6 with a (2-3) record in desperate need for a win to get back into the playoff picture. They however will play the undefeated Morningwood.
Speed Kills (1-4) is very much still in the playoff picture, they take on Washed Up in Week 6 a loss will more than likely put them out of playoff contention.
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+ Game Previews, recaps and write-ups are articles written by Nathan Apolonio.
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