In the fourth and final game of the evening, we saw Team Ian Shang do battle against the Intramural Heroes. The Intramural Heroes took the early lead off the back of Tim Gallivan, who began the game scoring at will against an undermanned Ian Shang team that was missing some key players. From this point on, the IM Heroes wouldn’t ever really look back. Their size with Tim Gallivan, Chris Gallivan, Cedric White was a force and the big men were versatile - also shooting lights out from three point land. 

With 10 minutes left in the first half, Team Ian Shang took their first timeout, only down 11-17 at this point. Peter Chang was out doing what he has consistently done all year, shooting three balls and being the skilled guard for Team Ian Shang that he is, but his efforts just weren’t enough on this night. With 7 minutes left in the first half, Sean Guiry was injured, and for an already undermanned Ian Chang team, this was a key piece to lose. Team Chang was able to hit a buzzer beater at halftime thanks to the strong effort of Sean Connor, bringing the game to a 9 point game - 39-30 with the IM Heroes holding the lead.

The 2nd half promised a new beginning for team Ian Chang, but unfortunately for them, the IM Heroes came out with a bit of an onslaught. Cedric White was part facilitator, part scorer, part rebounder for the IM Heroes and helped control the pace of the game as they got out to a 13 point lead 5 minutes into the 2nd half, up 58–45. From here, the lead would only balloon higher, and with 8 minutes left in the game, it was up to 20 points, 72-52. Everyone on IM Heroes seemed to have it going on this night and Team Ian Chang just could not keep up. The game would end 81-54 Final, IM Heroes win.

TAP All-Stars and Team Ian Shang was an absolute heavy weight fight. Ultimately, the better team on the day won in TAP All-Stars, but you can be sure Team Ian Shang still believes they can win this battle if the two teams match up again and are both healthy.

The game started out with Peter Chang of Team Ian Shang leading the way. The small combo guard was everywhere and knocked down 3 pointers at will, finishing the game with 4 long shots in total, most of which came in the early going. For the TAP All-Stars, David Lorden stepped up big time, scoring from all over the floor, leading the All-Stars with 18 points for the game. Jason Marino, however, was the pace-setter, doing a bit of everything and contributing 16 of his own points.

The game started as quite a back and forth affair, but you could tell there was a clear turning point when Victor Chang had to leave the game with 10 minutes to go in the first half with an apparent shoulder injury. The All-Stars would take advantage of this moment, not to mention just playing efficient team ball in their own right, getting out to a 5 point lead with 2 minutes left in the first half. By this point, thankfully, Victor Chang was able to return the game and tough it out. His return to the game may have helped Team Ian Shang’s morale, but it was really Peter Chang and Sean Guiery who carried the scoring load to get the game tied 30-30 at the half. The game was very much anyone’s to win at this point.

The TAP All-Stars came out of the half-time break with a fire in their bellies, quickly racing out to a 10 point lead with 12 minutes left in the game. Stephen Valacer was all over the place (in a good way) and incredibly patient in picking his spots for points, but truly helped control the tempo of the game, finishing with 7 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals.

All of that being said, Team Ian Shang would not go down easy. With 6 minutes left in the game, the lead was down to 4 and the momentum was Team Ian Shang’s side. That, however, was as close as Team Ian Shang would get, and by the end of the game, Team All Stars would be able to extend the lead to 9 with some strong rebounding and solid free throw shooting. TAP win, final of 58-49.

Game 2 of the evening was competitive for the first 13 minutes of the game, with Team Ian Shang leading 26-18 going into a timeout with 7:20 to go in the first half, but from there on out the size and skill of the Ian Shangs started to become too much for Eastie Hoops. A spirited run going into the break gave Team Ian Shang the lead 48-33.

Leading the way for Team Ian Shang were standouts Victor Chang and Sean Guiry. #18 Victor, aka the Bionic Man, was rocking double ankle braces + a knee band and had a stat sheet that was as full as his health file at the orthopedist. Putting up 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, it is very clear he is still healthy enough to dominate and leave his mark on any given Wednesday. Sean Guiry was the recipient of many of his assists and also put on quite the show in his own right, completing the only dunk of the night. Sporting the #20 and doing his best Gordon Hayward (pre-Celtics) impression, he reminded us that white men can indeed jump. 

On the other side of the ball, #51 Shaq Murray was everywhere, doing his best to keep his team afloat, especially with his active hands as he ended up netting a game-high 5 steals, many of which he turned into dazzling layups. #14, Ryan Willis, put in a very good effort helping lead the scoring charge for Eastie Hoops, knocking down 5 three-pointers, but unfortunately had to bow out early with a minor injury, leaving Eastie Hoops that much more thin in the backcourt.

At the 15:40 mark of the 2nd half, the lead had ballooned to 24 points and ultimately became too much for Eastie Hoops to get over. Team Ian Shang closed the game strong, finishing with a 92-66 hard fought win.