I can see clearly now….

Coming into this game I had Angelos & Demons (A&D) as a 7 point favorite.  I thought A&D had 5 guys versus Trey’s R US (TRU) who only had a confirmed 4 guys.  Come to find out A&D also only had 4 guys.  In my mind I still saw A&D as the favorites.

First half:

The game was competitive, close and just an outright battle.  Not sure if the 18-16 lead at the 9:28 mark by A&D was a result of good defense or bad offense but here we were.  As the half continued the scoring picked up slightly but TRU was able to flip the script and take a 29-25 lead into the half.

Halftime stats:

TRU:

Craig Baranowski 7 pts, 1 stl, 1 dreb, 2 fouls

Patrick Blaike 3 pts, 2 drebs

Tyrone Mullings 3 pts, 2 stls, 3 drebs, 1 ast

Josh Lax 16 pts, 1 ast, 1 foul

A&D:

Chris Hanks 4 pts, 8 drebs, 1 foul

Emmanuel Okharedia 6 pts, 2 drebs, 2 asts

Angelo Cerbone 15 pts, 2 orebs, 3 drebs, 1 foul

Jake Darby 1 dreb, 2 fouls

Player of the half:

Josh Lax

Secone half:

So for the first 5 minutes and 40 seconds TRU went on a 16-5 run.  This was probably a direct result of their sniper-like three point shooting.  It felt like the game was over even though there was a lot of time left. While A&D definitely didn’t quit they just weren’t able to get back into the game or make it respectable, TRU wins this one easily 67-48.

Player Grades:

Craig Baranowski B although his three ball was off, he came really close to a double double game.  I liked that he was able to not commit any additional fouls in the second half and just played his role.

Patrick Blaike A after going 1-5 from three in the first half he got hot in the second going 3-4 (3 in a row too).  His shooting really opened up the game for TRU.  I also liked his rebounding numbers.

Tyrone Mullings A he’s definitely capable of scoring more but he did what was required in helping his team secure the win.  It also helped that he stuffed the stat sheet.

Josh Lax A his free throw shooting percentage cannot be ignored but anytime you can bring your Discord game onto the court and back it up that helps your grade tremendously.  He also led the game in scoring and tied the game leaders in steals and assists.

Chris Hanks B- really close to a double double but the 1-7 from three is what hurts his grade here.

Emmanuel Okharedia B his three ball was off but outside of that stuffed the stat sheet.

Angelo Cerbone A- arguably the second best player on the floor but his three ball left more to be desired.

Jake Darby C he did manage to score in the second half but didn’t really do much else unfortunately for him and his team.

Player of the game:

Josh Lax bravo to you sir.  Discord delivery received.

It was a game winning offensive rebound and putback for Angelos and Demons to take the 55-53 victory over Balanced Flow in what was the most exciting game of the day coming down to the last second half court heave from Balanced Flow. Back and forth all game this one was a fight for playoff contention and these guys played with that type of hustle. 

For Angelos and Demons they were led by Angelo C himself with 20 pts 17 boards plus the game winner in an efficient performance. It seemed he was automatic in the low post all game long with a series of moves. He was joined by Tim R who was slicing to the rack throughout the game and putting constant pressure on the defense on the fast break. He finished with 20 pts 5 boards 2 asts on 2/4 from deep. Additional shoutout to Emmanuel O who played some tough defense in this one to go with 11 pts 7 boards 3 asts. 

Balanced Flow played this game tough and had a crucial offensive foul at the end here in what was a heartbreaker. They were led by Isak I with 24 pts 17 boards with a series of post moves to go with 4/17 on the deep ball. He was joined by Cam D who would finish this one with 16 pts 7 boards and some nice defense throughout the game with 2 steals and a block. Additional shoutouts to Seun T who had 9 pts to go with 13 boards and Andrew M who had a team high 4 asts.

**Angelo Eats, Restaurant Out of Barbouresco**

 Angels & Demons: 77 | One For The Road: 44

*Note, both teams would go into tipoff missing a starter: the immortal Dan Barbour for OFTR and the newlywed Chris Hanks. Congratulations, Chris, lucky girl. Reach out to committee chair Mrs. Harding for SDL WAG promotion details.*

At A&D -1 (-115), Vegas had this game a pick‘em. Sharps viewed this as a steal given (1) the advantages in transition A&D would enjoy from their speed and athleticism, (2) the disadvantages of OFTR having to navigate the unfamiliar void left by Barbour’s absence, and, perhaps most importantly, (3) Captain Slick’s understandable frustration over a 1pm start time that delayed his plans for coastal day drinking. 

To the Oddsmaker’s credit, OFTR was entering the game undefeated (their only loss coming by way of forfeit) and had the pieces to pull out a win, including shooting and leadership from field marshal Kaplan, size from Ian Murphy, who appeared to be the biggest guy out there, and an athletic motor from Balanced Flow’s namesake Jamie Cummins – all in addition to potential for Slick to splash a few soulcrushers and Harry to post up and back down a mouse, which is how I met Harry c.2016. 

To the action. A&D jumped out front early on, bolstered by effective ball movement and efficient scoring led by new timelord Angelo Cerbone and 3x father figure Eman. Per usual, Eman provided solid three-point shooting while creating easy opportunities for his teammates, including mid-ranges for Tim and a few fancy drives from Waldo that surprised everyone but myself and maybe Darby. A&D’s balanced attack would persist until the daylight between score trajectories exceeded 30pts+.

On the other side of the ball, pressure to keep up with A&D’s consistent scoring fell on veteran Matt Kaplan. Let me drop the kayfabe for the balance of this paragraph to share views on Kap’s performance: (1) he played exactly the way he should have without Barbour regardless of the three ball not falling, and (2) just to be clear, I am not actually familiar with your skin quality nor your skincare routine – both of which are probably excellent – and was making a joke in the same spirit of intended pre-matchup troll camaraderie that I’ve done with Djordje, Lynch, Pendergast, and so many others before you that members of this chat can attest to. That said, I appreciate the appropriateness of any potentially harmful comment is measured not by intent nor precedent, but by the offense taken. And so (3), my apologies, I agree we shouldn’t be commenting on physical appearances. 

OFTR would maintain a heartbeat through most of the first half by way of Kap’s frequent trips to the FT line, many putback opportunities from Ian (actual, not rakplays), and typical hustle bustle 2PM and a few atypical 3PM from Jamie Cummins. Unfortunately for OFTR, their limited offensive output was not enough to stop the onslaught from A&D, and our beloved Steve would call them game with ~2min left to play in the second half to bring an end to our Saturday nightKap, 77-44 A&D.

**A&D**

**Eman:** A-, this group might recall league chef Damiano Ruffattelli’s claim from last season that “there is no more perfect union in all gastronomy than the marriage of bolognese with homemade tagliatelle.” At WSNS, there is no more perfect union than the pairing of Emmanuel Okharedia with a big athletic wing, and this season it’s Angelo Cerbone 

**Tim Roberts:** B+, love to see him in the top 2 A&D rebounders for the game. Shot was falling just didn’t take many. Felt like he could have sped to the rim at will

**Dan Waldman:** B, some very nice drives and good sideline comments 

**Angelo:** A, led the game in scoring and boards, hit all his threes, and had a few great comments on discord ahead of the game. 

**Darby?:** C, no points and kept his shirt on after the game. Who are you and where is Jake?

**OFTR**

**Slick:** C-, team sorely needed his three ball today but he hardly checked for heat

**Kap:** C+, created some turnovers on defense, got to the line 8x (box isn’t right), had the courage to try to fill some big ass shoes

**Ian:** [x], did a nice job cleaning up on boards. Felt like there was more opportunity to bully in the post than he realized, or I’m conflating toughness with tall and tattooed. My first experience watching Ian play so will withhold the letter grade. 

**Harry:** [x] quiet game for Harry. First time I saw him play in 8 years so no letter grade

**Jamie:** B, shot the three ball well and had a few nice drives. Seemed like he played better and did more than his line might imply. Good news is with holdouts Ethan Good and JJ Reilly skipping the F24 season, Jamie remains a Top 3 best hair candidate