WEEK 5 RECAP - GETTIN' IT IN!!
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As the season winds down we are really seeing the haves and the have nots! Today was a mix bag of lopsided games.  For some reason, there were a large number of blowouts but on the other hand, there were a few tense games that came down to the last second.  We started about an hour late because many teams were attending a funeral.

One note to make – Every week someone has a question about the time and do not understand how we operate the clock.  There is a RUNNING CLOCK. The clock will only stop on every whistle during the last 2 minutes of the game.  This means that even through TIMEOUTS in the first half and TIMEOUTS over two minutes in the second half the clock will be running.  It has been in the rulebook since our tournament’s inception in 2000.  You can see it here (Rule #7).  We implemented this rule because we are outside and must keep the games moving.  We have an average of 12 games per day. If we stopped the clock at every whistle, we would run out of daylight before all the games are completed.  I don’t know about you, but the staff is already out there in the sun from 10am setting up until usually 7pm cleaning up.  The teams just come and go.  This is another reason why we only have games one day a week.  We used to do it 3 days, but we too like to enjoy life.  LOL!!

The highlight game of the day was an exhibition game with our small wonders – 8 & Under.  We don’t officially have a division for this group, but we paired some of the younger players from the DC ballerz team against an 8 & Under Pro City Team.   The game was a blowout but just to see the smallest of our neighborhood kids “gettin’ it in” was a good thing to see.  Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures from this game.  We will allow them to play again at the end.  They deserve to have their day.

Well, now on to the regular games…

13 &UNDER DIVISION
The first Blowout of the day belonged to Tylerhouse and Pro City.  Tylerhouse keeps proving that they are a powerhouse in this division but they do have a nemesis in the MD Suns, whom they split two very close games with.  The coach of Pro City was upset at the lack of effort from his players, but to their credit, they were out side in the heat early and waiting over an hour and a half for this one to begin.  This may have played a part in the blowout.  Don’t worry, they will have a chance to prove themselves next week. 

The other game in this division was surprisingly a nail biter of a contest.  It put UpTop against MD Suns.  I don’t know what it is, but no matter who the Suns play, they are always in a tight game.  This makes for exciting basketball.  This is also true of their 16 & Under team.  Both Suns teams are truly emotional squads led by two phenomenal women!  Yes, young men coached by women!!  This is rare but it seems to give their teams an emotional edge. 

Well now, back to the actual game.  I have to give credit to this young UpTop team also because they are still trying to get organized, but they took their game to another level that we have not seen from this team.  Up to now, the powerhouses in this division were Tylerhouse and the Suns.  Both teams met each other’s intensity and went basket for basket all the way down to the end.  Needless to say the end was not “the end”.  This one went into overtime!!  The game finally ended with an UpTop win (38-33).  I must note that this was a very tense game and emotions were high.  There was a discrepancy with clock management towards the end of the game that may have cost the Suns the close victory.  The league will take responsibility for the table issues.  We have been struggling to find constant table staff.  To correct this problem, we have decided to watch the games closely and in situations where the games are close towards the end, a commissioner will be at the table to make sure time and score are correct.  We are working to improve each year.

16 & UNDER DIVISION
As I stated before, the MD Suns seem to always be in a tight game.  I am not sure if their teams take on the play of their opponents.  Meaning, that they match the intensity of their opponent.  If their opponent plays tough, the Suns play tough.  If their opponent is lay back, the Suns are more relaxed.  Either way it’s interesting to watch.  The first game in this division put the Suns against a struggling 1st & O team.  This game seemed to be a walk in the park for the Suns, but there was a spark ignited in this 1st & O team that we have not seen all season.  Now these players were making some extraordinary plays.  I have seen many of these players play in regular pickup games before and have never seen them play with such intensity.  It made for one of the better games of the day.  The Suns made some very spectacular plays themselves.  There were several high flying dunks on fast breaks that had the whole park standing up!!  The Suns pulled out a 1 point victory but this is definitely one to remember.  1st & O lost a heartbreaker, but there is always next week.  Take it out on your next opponent!!

The next game in this division was a complete blowout.  It put Hollywood against Kenilworth (Black vs Red).  I think the Hollywood team was off an emotional high from the funeral for one of their players because they came out with a fury we have not seen from them.  To Kenilworth’s credit, they arrived early and sat around for several hours before this one began.  Many of the players could have been drained from the sun because this is usually a very good team.  They are surely much better than the 15 points they put up!!  Hollywood took this one from the tip and never looked back (58-15).

The final game in this division was Colors vs Tylerhouse.  Can anyone stop this colors team?  There are only a few undefeated teams left.  Colors is one of them.  The thing to note about this team is that I can’t remember the last time they were defeated.  This goes back a few years.  The players have been together for so long that they seem to know each other’s move before they make it.  Some players are missing from past years, but they still remain strong.  Tylerhouse was coming off of last week’s close loss to the Suns and hit a brick wall in Colors.  DT and Howie hooked up numerous times for fast breaks and spectacular plays.  DT needs to work on his dunking skills because he missed another easy dunk!!  Maybe Coach Moose should have him do some suicides each time he misses an easy dunk.  Colors easily ran away with this one 62-40.  It seems like the only team that has a chance against Colors would be the Suns.  We will see how this one plays out in the playoffs on the 16th.

19 & UNDER DIVISION
BallaHolics, BallaHolics, BallaHolics….  This is truly a perfect name for this team.  They just want to “GET IT IN” any day and any time!!  This team will stay all day waiting for an opportunity to play somebody, anybody!!  It doesn’t matter who!!  Jeff and Corey and the crew will not miss an opportunity to play.  They even filled in on one of the Unlimited games this week for late Young Gunners players.  BallaHolics should have been in the Unlimited division this year. Although they are in 19 & Under Division, they have the skill to move up a division.  We may revisit that one!!

Well the first game put BallaHolics against a decent Southside Ballerz Team.  This one was a blowout most of the game, but Southside Ballerz kept it together and really came charging back towards the end.  They actually almost won this game.  They came all the way back, but made some careless mistakes down the stretch and game up short.  BallaHolics got a 4 point victory (79-74).

Next was Street Kings vs 3rd & P.  Street Kings finally had their older players back this week and just in time.  3rd & P wasn’t at full strength, but they still made a game out of it. The game was close until late in the second half when Street Kings started to pull away. Street Kings came out with the victory 69-54.

The last game was BallaHolics vs DC Finest.  BallaHollics was a fill-in for a no show Ft. Stanton team.  DC Finest was saved by the rain, because this one was truly a going to be a blowout in the end.  BallaHolics had this one wrapped before the half with a score of 41-25.  DC Finest will get another chance next week against one of the other teams.

UNLIMITED DIVISION
Because of rain and the late start for the day, we only had one game in this division.  That was all we needed!!  Several unlimited teams had previous engagements and could not make it for their scheduled game, so we put Young Gunners against We R One.  This is definitely a heated rivalry!!  The game was no exception.  After several 19 & Under BallaHolics players filled in for late Young Gunners players, the game really became competitive.  Every basket was crucial and hard to get.  It was so tense that Commissioner Moose had to keep the time for the whole game.  He has personal ties to both of these teams, so he was really in deep with this one!  The game swung back and forth with no team getting an edge on the other.  Many tight calls by referee Valentine caused a lot of havoc with We R One.  On a funny note, coach Bing from Young Gunners arrived late for the game and walked directly across the court to the sidelines.  He actually disrupted a play.  Coach Jarron for We R One said “That was an illegal pick from on coach” and wanted Valentine to make the call.  Play resumed and never stopped.  This one went all the way down to the wire and right into OT.  In the 3 minute OT, we got more of the same.  No one backed down!!  Even when the rain started to fall with less than a minute left, players were still trying to finish up!!  Eventually the referees called the game due to rain with :39 seconds left and We R One up by 2 points (62-60).  This one is not over!!  TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK…..