SDL Week 1 Write-Ups
by Jason on
WEEK 1 SDL WRITE-UPS
Stull Here vs NAIR
BY JAMIL
The man, the myth, the legend David Pendergast made his much-anticipated debut and didn’t disappoint. With 29 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal David put the entire league on notice. Admittedly, these stats would be more impressive, if Nair had a single player over 5”9. Nonetheless, I have no doubt David will be in contention for MVP when it’s all said and done.
David got out to a hot start scoring his team's first 7 points in a variety of ways. Steve Rakusin had an impressive 17 points and 14 rebounds as Team Stull Here dominated the glass and pace of play. However, despite only having 4 players Team Nair was not backing down. Led by Damian Ruff (16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) and DTO
(18 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 steals) neither team was able to pull away in this low-scoring affair.
Stull Here would enjoy a slight advantage going into halftime leading 28 - 25. Team Nair did their best to keep the game competitive, but once Devin Quinlin got it going in the second half, this game got out of hand very quickly and Stull is here never looked back.
David, Devin, and Steve have the potential to be one of the better trios in this league. This team will be contenders when it’s all said and done, Jack, who?
DANIELS vs Platano Power
By JAMIL
After losing the first game of their opening week double-header, Team Daniels had the opportunity to redeem themselves against an understaffed Platano Power. Admittedly, this game got off to a very ugly start but Cam D’s aggressive kept Team Daniels in the game.
Cam would finish with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, but more important managed to find his three-point stroke. Jorge (23) and Tim (22) were fantastic for Platano Power as they did everything within their power to keep this game competitive.
Platano Power would enjoy a slight advantage going into halftime leading 28 - 27, but when has a one-point lead ever been safe in a CAC League? Exactly never! Playing the second of back-to-backs without Adam Ellabidy I could tell the fatigue was starting to set in for Team Daniels, but Joe Breda (11 Points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists) was still going 100 MPH, as he did his best impression of Russell Westbrook with the one man fast break.
This game would come down to the final minutes. Tied at 60 with 7 seconds on the clock, Team Daniels got Ghost opened for the screen at the top of the key and Mike nailed the three with seconds left on the clock.
Neil tried to get a shot off to tie the game as time expired, but Joe Breda called game, stealing the ball from Neil, before he could get the attempt out of hands.
COSTA vs DANIELS
And we are back…
Week 1 is here and not only are there a lot of familiar faces back in the league, but I, Damian Ruff, am back providing some of the league coverage for the first time since 2019. Will this trend continue, ask my wife.
Coming into this game I expected it to be highly competitive. Both teams were fully staffed and there was only 1 “true” rookie playing in this game. A “true” rookie to me is someone who has never played in any CAC leagues.
To my surprise, team Costa completely controlled the half. They pretty much led throughout. To end the half, Jamil completely bricked a three point shot off the backboard, followed it up perfectly with an oreb and then was able to lay the ball in right before the buzzer. Team Costa was up 36-24 at the half.
First half stats:
Team Daniels
Andre Jones 1 stl, 3 drebs, 1 ast
Michael “Ghost” Fraher 10 pts, 2 orebs, 5 drebs, 2 asts
Andrew Marra 1 dreb, 1 ast
Cameron Daniels 7 pts, 1 stl, 3 drebs, 2 asts
Adam Ellabidy 2 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb, 1 ast
Joseph Breda 5 pts, 1 dreb, 1 ast
Team Costa
Jamil Ball 13 pts, 4 oreb, 2 dreb, 3 ast
Charlie Maneval 9 pts, 1 blk, 7 dreb
Cameron Daniel 3 pts, 1 blk, 1 dreb
Emmanuel Okharedia 4 pts, 4 stls, 1 dreb, 1 ast
Dylan Costa 5 pts, 1 oreb, 7 drebs, 3 asts
Dan Waldman 2 pts
Player of the half:
Jamil Ball
For the second half, I really would love to talk about the competitiveness of the game but I can’t, team Costa dominated winning 69-55.
Player Grades:
Andre Jones A- I think Andre played a great game especially rebounding but I’m giving him the minus grade because he has to attempt some shots and score.
Michael “Ghost” Fraher A- it’s clear that Ghost will most likely be the go-to scorer for this team all season. While he did have a nice double double, he’ll need to attemp more FGAs for this team to win games.
Andrew Marra C+ really just played his role and took advantage of the opportunities presented to him.
Cameron Daniels C has to be more aggressive and not let the opposing player get him off his game. Didn’t play awful but expected more.
Adam Ellaby B- was happy to see him start in the second half and as a result really got things going on offense. Would’ve liked to see him do more on the defensive side of the ball.
Joseph Breda B+ the + is for the fact that he remembered that I threw him out of a game (yes I refereed at CAC too) and he said I was right, imagine that. Joe did a decent job scoring the ball (fortunately for him I don’t keep track of missed twos). I think he needs to talk a lot more and give some energy and effort on the defensive end as well.
Jamil Ball A although he didn’t shoot the three ball well he played a really solid overall game. I especially liked how he rallied the troops during a timeout early in the first half. This made a huge difference in the game to me and they never looked back.
Charlie Maneval B- didn’t shoot his best but did rebound well on the defensive end in a team win.
Cameron Daniel A played his role perfectly and shot efficiently.
Emmanuel Okharedia A+ I think statistically he can do more but his trash talk was at an elite level today and was entertaining. My favorite quotes were “I got three shooters” “send the double” “he acts like I won’t lock that up”. When I think of the top 5 trash talkers in this league it’s 1) Emmanuel 2) Emmanuel 3) Emmanuel 4) Emmanuel 5) Emmanuel. I also feel like he walked away from this game owning real estate in two guys' heads (not gonna name any names but you know who you are). With all that said, I still can’t wait for my Del Frisco’s 😂
Dylan Costa A+ completely dominated the game and shot the three ball well.
Dan Waldman C did nothing to cost his team the game, I just feel like he’s capable of playing better.
Player of the game:
Dylan Costa had a massive double double and shot the three ball well in the team win. Great way to start of the season with a win and as a first time captain.