Overtime warriors Blood and Cerbone survive and advance again

After upset victories in round one, both Blood and Cerbone and No Diddy came into this one very confident. The teams split their matchup in the regular season giving each something to build on in this one and the only person missing from either team was Joe. To the action!

The first half is somewhat of a blur as KD hit brutal traffic so yours truly had to ref. I appreciate both teams understanding of the situation, though the amount of whining from certain individuals after they just missed layups was something. Both teams were going up and down the court, but Harry’s team was cooking from three, while Angelo and Joel were feasting down low. Overall, No Diddy hit seven threes in the half, with Lucas leading the way with three. Joel hit the only three for Blood and Cerbone, but it didn’t matter as they were getting easy buckets in transition and in the paint. Still, though the math game was too much to overcome for Blood and Cerbone so No Diddy ended the first half with a 40-32 lead. Lucas led the way for No Diddy with 17 and Pollock was close behind with 12. For Blood and Cerbone, Joel had 14 and Angelo had 10.

The second half got started with Blood and Cerbone jumping out to a quick start and cutting the lead to one in the first four minutes. Joel cooked Lucas and hit the free throw to make it 42-41 Harry, but Sam answered immediately with an and one of his own to push the lead back to four. Over the next five minutes, the game was played in a narrow window with Harry’s team up between two and five. With just over 10 minutes left, Joel hit a three fro the parking lot and it gave AO their first lead at 48-47 since early in the first half. A few possessions later Sam hit a three to regain the lead for Harry and it stayed that way for the next four minutes as only one point was scored in this stretch on a free throw by Sam. 

Blood and Cerbone finally scored with six minutes left on a France putback, but Sam answered with a bucket to push the lead back to three at 55-52. A massive play happened right after this as Blood and Cerbone fell asleep and Lucas stole the ensuing inbound. Joel recovered, however, and made a great block on the layup and then in transition, Lucas committed his fourth foul of the game. Angelo and Joel would score on the next two possessions giving Blood and Cerbone a 56-55 lead, but Sam answered again with a massive three to regain the lead with four minutes left. 

Blood and Cerbone went ice cold again over the next two minutes with their drought finally ending on a France free throw with two minutes left to make it a one point game. After a bad shot from No Diddy, Hanks got out in transition for a layup to give AO the lead with 90 seconds left! Harry’s team held the ball for a while and with 40 seconds left Sam got a great shot and nailed it to put No Diddy back up by two at 61-59. AO’s answer was to go back to Angelo in the post and he made a great move and hit a layup and got fouled. He missed the free throw, however, leaving the game tied with 20 seconds left. 

Harry inbounded the ball from the wing and Blood and Cerbone were overplaying which allowed Sam to beat the press. He got all the way to the rim where three defenders surrounded him, so he made the smart play and passed it to a wide open KG in the corner. KG’s shot was wide and came off the way in a way that gave Joel a full head of steam and a few seconds left to get a shot up. Joel got up the court quickly and Lucas came over to contest as Joel threw up a runner with form that looked like the Jumpman logo (seriously watch the video Cam posted). The shot was right on target and got halfway down before somehow rimming out sending us to overtime for the second straight week for both these teams!

Like last week, Blood and Cerbone won the tip and immediately Hanks hit a three to grab an early lead. Sam missed a shot at the other end and then Joel hit a jumper making it a five point game. No Diddy looked exhausted at this point and their offense was a mess. On the next three possessions they attempted one shot (a wild Lucas three) and had two turnovers. Meanwhile, Blood and Cerbone continued to score. Angelo mad some free throws, then got a steal and made a layup and now it was a nine point game at 70-61. It was desperation time for Harry after this as Sam jacked up a wild three that was blocked by Joel. He got the ball back, however, and attempted another three and was fouled. He hit the first two free throws to make it a seven point game, but committed a violation on the third one as he tried to deliberately miss it. Lucas stole the inbound and got it to KG who was fouled. KG missed the first and then deliberately missed the second but Joel got the rebound. Blood and Cerbone would hit a few more free throws and walked away with a 73-63 victory.

Blood and Cerbone
Joel A+: This was the best game I’ve ever seen from Joel, just dominant on both ends of the floor
Angelo A-: Solid performance across the board including dominating the paint on offense
Hanks B+: Didn’t score much, but when he did it was always a huge bucket
France C+: Clearly wasn’t 100%, but battled hard
AO C-: Free The Great One
The Great One INC: Didn’t attempt a shot or play in the second half due to coaching malpractice

No Diddy
Sam A-: Did everything he could to keep his team in the game, but six turnovers is rough
Lucas C+: Great first half, but zero points after that is brutal
KG C: Need more than 10 points in a game like this and missed a wide open game winner
Harry B-: Thought he could have been more aggressive shooting, but was also the only player on the team who could defend the paint
Weaver C: Active as always

Blood and Cerbone outlast No-Look Pass in OT
Closing out the night we had the 4/5 game with AO’s Blood and Cerbone and Silva’s No-Look Pass. Both teams were fully staffed so we looked in for a good one. To the action! 

After the fireworks that ended it and pace that the previous game was played at the start of this game was always going to be a letdown. Both teams were throwing up bricks and turning the ball over. Martin finally broke that spell with a triple and Ghost hit a couple jumpers also as Silva jumped out to an early lead. It was 18-11 at the halfway mark, but AO’s team started to comeback as they realized they could run after every miss and generally get easy layups. 

After a three by the Great One with seven minutes left, AO’s squad had their first lead of the game at 23-22. They had a very balanced attack withe everyone scoring in the first half, while Silva’s team was reliant on Martin or Ghost to score on every possession. The good news though of having Martin and Fraher is they are both capable of hitting contest jump-shots and they were in the first half. AO’s team on the other hand was relying on transition layups and offensive rebounds to score as they were really struggling from mid-range. France did hit a pair of threes though to stretch things a little, but Martin seemed to have an answer every time.  

The last five minutes of the half was very back and froth with both teams going on runs. First, Silva’s team jumped out to a five point lead at 29-24, then AO answered with a run to tie it at 29. From there, Silva again went on a 5-0 run, but AO answered with France hitting some tough shots and we entered halftime with Silva holding a narrow 36-33 lead. Martin led the way with 20 and Ghost had 12, meaning 32/36 points came from those two. AO’s team was far more balanced with every player scoring and France leading the way with 13. 

The second half got started with a much needed Silva three. Outside of Martin, his team was 0-7 from deep in the first half, so maybe this early three was a sign of things to come. Angelo answered with a banked in three which he did call immediately after release because everyone could see it was on its way to breaking the backboard right away. The next few minutes were very back and forth with Martin and Fraher continuing to score, but Blood and Cerbone having answered in transition. Alan especially was really getting out in the second half and so was Angelo who also continued to dominate the offensive glass. The highlight play in this stretch naturally came from the Great One who saw Martin attacking the rim and helped off his defender and swatted away a potential layup attempt. 

With twelve minutes left, things were tied up at 49 and the pace finally started to slow. Martin hit a three to give Silva the lead back. Alan’s team answered with a pair of free throws from Angelo and a Josh steal and put back after he blew the initial layup (more of that to come later). Angelo had another put back a few possessions later to push Alan’s teams lead to three at 54-51. Martin went cold during this stretch, which was problematic for Silva as after that initial three from him, the other four players on his squad had struggled to score anything. Another bucket from Angelo pushed the AO lead to five at 56-51, but a huge bucket from Martin ended the drought and than Bauman found Ghost for his only field goal of the half to make it a one point game at 56-55 with five minutes left.

Both teams threw up bricks over the next few possessions, but then Silva hit a huge jump shot to regain the lead at 57-56 with three minutes left. You could tell both teams were gassed at this point, especially Martin who was responsible for so much of the offense. With two minutes left, Angelo had a great block and ran the floor and eventually Joel found him to regain the lead at 58-57. After what had been a quiet stretch, Martin got back on track with a three to regain the lead for Silva at 60-58 with 90 seconds left. 

The teams traded misses on the next two possessions and after waiting for about twenty seconds, Alan finally fouled Ghost and sent him to the line with 30 seconds left. He calmly hit both free throws which gave his team a four point lead. AO’s team needed a quick answer and they got lucky when Joel threw up a brick, but was fouled. He would miss both free throws, however, Angelo secured the rebound and kicked it out to Hanks who nailed a three and made it a one point game with ten seconds left. Martin got the ball and was fouled with a chance to make it a three point game. He hit the first, but missed the second and AO’s team secured the rebound and called a timeout. Joel got the ball on the inbound and drew two defenders and made a perfect pocket pass to Angelo rolling down the lane. He had a wide open layup, but bricked it! Fortunately, the ball came right back to him, but he missed the layup again! Naturally the ball came back to him again and this time he didn’t miss, tipping it in with less than two seconds left sending us to overtime again with the score 63-63!

Martin got us started in overtime with a jumper, but Hanks answered with another clutch three to give AO the lead. The teams traded misses on the next two possessions and after a Bauman miss, France got fouled and went 1/2 to make it a two point game. After missed three for the lead from Martin, France was fouled retrieving a loose ball and had his ankle rolled up on, so he had to leave the game. AO came in to take the free throws and missed it, keeping Silva in the game. Waldman got a good look from three for the lead on the next possession, but missed it and Alan snuck out and Joel saw him passing it ahead for a layup to ice the game. Martin would miss a three on final possession and that would do it as Blood and Cerbone walked away with a 69-65 victory, the third upset win of the night.

Blood and Cerbone
France A-: One of the better games I’ve seen him play this year, hopefully his ankle is alright for next week
Angelo A: Quite the swing for Angelo as if he missed that layup a third time this grade was going in the D’s but instead he gets an A for hitting the game tying shot and great defense and rebounding
Hanks A+: Not the biggest scoring game, but had a double-double and hit two of the three biggest shots in the game in clutch situations
Joel B+: Quiet game scoring, but might have been the best passing game I’ve ever seen from Joel leading to seven assists
Alan B: Quiet first half, but made some clutch plays late 
Great One B+: Made the most of his minutes with a big triple and block 

No-Look Pass
Martin A+: He was the only reason the game was even close
Ghost B: Great first-half, but was invisible for large portions of the second half
People’s Player C-: Rough game for Bauman on both ends
Silva C: Hit a three, but needed more in a playoff game
Waldman C: Active on both ends, but shot wasn’t falling
Ott C+: Solid defense and active on the offensive glass, but shot wasn’t falling
 

Blood and Cerbone send Locked and Loaded back to the drawing board 

This game didn’t have any stakes as both teams were destined for the bottom half of the bracket. With Weinstein no where to be found, things looked pretty straightforward for Blood and Cerbone, but that’s why we play the games. To the action!

The game started with Isaac and Angelo going back and forth making plays. Each hit a couple threes and AO especially was very fired up by Angelo’s shooting. He had three first half threes as Blood and Cerbone jumped out to a quick lead. The lead extended when the Great One entered as he hit back to back threes to push the lead eleven at 34-23 with eight minutes left. Locked and Loaded continued to fight hard, though as Clarke started to make some plays on offense and was dominating the offensive glass. A guns three cut the lead to ten with a minute left, but AO would make a bucket to push the lead back to 12, at 45-33, as the half ended. Scoring for Blood and Cerbone was very balanced as Angelo had 13 and the rest of the squad had between 6 and 9 points. Meanwhile for Locked and Loaded, Isak had 14 and Clarke had 11. 

The second half got started with Locked and Loaded hanging around, but unable to get any closer than 10. Guns hit a mother three a few minutes into the half and so did Isak. Angelo continued to impress for Blood and Cerbone and Joel got going as well. A Joel put back made it 59-45, but Guns answered with another three. That three seemed to spark Locked and Loaded as they went on a run culminated by Clarke with a tough finish off an Isak pass. That layup made it a five point game at 61-56 with eight minutes left and we looked in for a close finish.

Joel answered with back to back buckets to push the lead back to nine, but Guns hit a three to bring it back to six. The Great One took over after that with back to back threes to push the lead back to 12. It looked done and dusted now, but Alan lost control of his team as they started to throw the ball around and then out of bounds. Isak had a steal and then hit a deep three and Guns hit a three to make it an eight point game at 75-67 with one minute left. Locked and loaded started to foul then and after the Great One hit his first free throw, he missed the second, but it went right to Joel who put it back and in to close things out as Blood and Cerbone walked away with a 78-67 victory. 

Blood and Cerbone
Joel A-: Nice recovery after last weeks disaster.
Angelo B+: Incredible first half, but was quiet in the second on offense. 
The Great One A+: 5 three pointers and two steals. Yes please.
France B: Did a little of everything, but still think there’s more offensive potential here.
AO C+: Dinged for losing control of his team late. 

Locked and Loaded
Isak B: 29/19 and kept them in the game single-handedly for long periods. 
Guns B+: Struggled in the first half, but bounced back with a very strong second half with 14 points. 
Glynn C: Need more than 9/5 when you only have four players.
Clarke B: Worked really hard and had a couple of big buckets when it was close. 

Understaffed No Diddy stuns Blood and Cerbone

Coming into this one, both teams needed the win and had major absences. Blood and Cerbone was without Angelo, but they have plenty of depth with 5 players averaging double-figures and the great one not far behind, while No Diddy was missing KG and Lucas who were 2/3 players on the team averaging more than six points per game. On paper this was a massive mismatch, but we don’t play the games on paper. To the action!

Things got started as expected with Blood and Cerbone getting easy looks and No Diddy struggling to get anything going on offense. After eight minutes it was 22-12 AO after a couple of France buckets and we looked headed for a blowout. Hanks was cooking Harry from the perimeter and France was getting easy layup after easy layup. Harry had seen enough at this point and called a timeout to stop the bleeding and whatever he said worked as coming out of the timeout Sam started to make shots for the first time in a few weeks. He had eleven quick points and all of sudden it was a two point game at 29-27. This culminated a 12-2 run for No Diddy and we had a ball game on our hands. Sam tied the game soon there after at 29, but France came back in and AO’s squad regained control to push the lead back to five at half time, 39-34. Pollock led the way for No Diddy with 18, while Weaver had six and Joe eight. For Blood and Cerbone, Hanks had 16 and France had 13, but nobody else had more than four. 

The second half got started with Harry’s team turning into the 2024 Celtics as they were bombing threes and hitting them. Joe and Weaver each hit one and all of a sudden, Harry had his first lead of the game at 40-39. The Great One had a nice bucket to regain the lead, but then Harry decided to take matters into his own hands and hit back-to-back threes to grab the lead back and create some separation. Given how prevalent scoring was in the first half and Harry only having four players in a extremely hot and humid gym, I figured it was only a matter of time before Blood and Cerbone regained control. That didn’t happen though as the clock kept ticking away and Harry’s team held a lead.

They weren’t scoring much, but AO’s team wasn’t even getting shots up so that didn’t matter. They had 15 turnovers overall, including nine in the second half and I might have missed a few. To illustrate how inept the offenses were, at the 14 minute mark it was 50-47 Harry. Fast forward ten minutes to the four minutes left in the game and Joel hit a 2 to bring AO’s team within two at 56-54. With things tight and both teams struggling on offense, every bucket was going to matter, so naturally the teams decided to settle it at the foul line. 

After Pollock hit a few free throws, AO hit two to make it a one point game at 59-58 with two minutes left. Sam missed on the ensuing possession and Joel got fouled. He went 1/2 at the line to tie things up with 90 seconds left. Harry answered with a smooth baseline jumper to regain the lead at 61-59 with just over a minute left, but then Joel got fouled again and split his free throws to make it a one point game. Harry’s team ran 30 seconds off the clock before Sam got fouled. He made 1/2 to give them a two-point lead at 62-60 with 26 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Hanks threw a brutal pass, which Harry intercepted. He got the ball to Sam who got fouled, but he missed the first giving Blood and Cerbone a chance. In a fitting ending to the game, France slipped and turned the ball over again, so they didn’t even get a shot off and No Diddy walked away with a 62-60 win. 

No Diddy
Sam A-: Great game overall, but missed a bunch of free throws late that could have sealed it. 
Harry A-: Got dominated by Hanks earlier on, but flipped the script in the second half and hit the game winning shot and got a key steal.
Weaver B+: Carried the offense at times in the first half and played solid defense throughout.
Joe A: Really nice game from Joe who hit shots and kept the ball moving.

Blood and Cerbone
Hanks B: Great first half, but really tailed off and had a brutal late turnover.
France C: Weird game as he came out of the gate quick, but then sat out for long stretches and had zero points in the second half.
Joel D-: Joel was bad.
Great One B: Had a couple nice buckets, but missed a few open threes which his team badly needed.
AO D: Weird substitution patterns and didn’t change anything up when they couldn’t score at all for long periods of time.