The Grand Finals night is here, and the games that took place were the best teams of the Divisions, the ones that made it through the first 2 weeks of playoffs to end up at the big game, the one that can notch a team UBL glory and the beginning or continuance of a dynasty…Starting with Division 1!
An epic finals matchup of 2 big rivals this season, Shooters the upstart energetic young bloods stepping up big time in the season beating the Hogz which is a rare feat, and now meeting in the finals the scene would be set for a blockbuster Grand Finals as the best 2 teams in the entire UBL come head to head!
Hogz got out to a quick start shooting 54% from 3 in the 1st quarter as the Shooters pushed it inside, the rebounds were even at this stage but the assists 8-3 Hogz, showing the kind of game we would see, some big individual plays from Shooters vs the team passing and shooting of the Hogz, the game was going to be an uphill battle for Shooters as the 2nd quarter commenced with Hogz up 29-18 with Azza P getting hot 3 for 3 from deep.
2nd quarter was all 3 bombs from both sides, both teams put up 12 3s the Hogz hit 5 and Shooters hit 5 also. REbounds were even still, and the only difference was the 10% shooting percentage Hogz had over Shooters which equated to 10 points, Shooters taking it inside more and getting 6 more Offensive rebounds so far. Not much in it but Johnny M made a big splash with 3 deep 3s to help push out the lead to 10. Johnny and Azza had 15 each to lead Hogz and Brooklyn also had 15 and Jake 12 from Shooters at the half…
3rd quarter began with the bulk of the scoring done inside by Jake P for Hogz, and Brooklyn started lighting up the downtown area with 3 big threes to keep things close, only 7 points in it by the end of the quarter, a slower quarter for Hogz as Shooters went on a good run and got enough stops to slow the bleeding from outside daggers. Brooklyn with 24 in the game so far getting his groove going as the game shifted to the final period.
The 4th quarter saw the unravelling of the Shooters defense as the Hogz went to work and kept the scoring constant, mixing up the attack inside and out, Shooters desperately put up 3s and made some crucial ones, but in the ned they just couldnt recover from the hot 1st half shooting of the Hogz as they finished up getting the edge with a 20-14 run in the 4th to close out the match. Shooters humbled by the Hogz machine who keep their class and make another finals a show of high level shooting and teamwork, champions again.
Big mention to the top performers in this one, from the Hogz, Azza P, leveling up every game he plays, the young phenom who been at UBL before he would even play, leads his team with 19 points and 5 assists on 46% shooting, hitting 5 threes, huge game for a superstar of the future in UBL at the very least! Johnny M put in huge shtos from deep and ran the PG spot unleashing the best from all the HOgz players, true Rondo style, clinched the lead with his veteran experience in this game, Nate hit 13pts and 3 steals hungry for the ball and 2 players got double doubles! Dan W with 13 points 13 rebs and Jake P with 10pts 12 rebs! A great recipe for a finals win!
Shooters has some huge shots from their soldiers who did what they could to keep up, Jake L had the mamba mentality and wanted to get his team over the line this game with the fadeaway working a treat for him all year, he put it to use and got work done all game 18 points 7 assists and 7 rebounds 3 steals! Great statline! Whilst Brookyln G got his playoff mode on early as he started smashing in the 3 pointers getting 27pts 8rebs 4 asts on 45% shooting! An epic game in the finals! Jakiah was solid from deep after heating up a bit with 12 points to help out.
The Hogz go back to back after a long time dominance of Div1 on Wednesdays, and with two Finals wins in a row, the streak could start getting up to 3 and more again, Shooters got close but who else can take down this team who keeps getting to the finals and showing everyone what it takes to win. Great game and great season to both teams, Hogz champions again!
Div 2 had 2 teams which had started a rivalry earlier in the season with their matchups always getting interesting and ffull of big plays, this would be no different, the basketball gods looking on, which team would get the luck with shots in this game?
Yo Mambas came out 1st quarter with some calculated offensive strategies, getting things going from the mid range and grabbing some and1s to get loose, Killa Beez just gave it to Tyran to unleash from deep scoring 14 of 17 of their points hittng 5 threes already! THe tone was set for the match, the scores 17-15 KillaBeez all stats prety much even, both teams shooting under 35% shooting, Yo Mambas on 22% in a very slow start to KillaBeez 33%..
THe 2nd quarter was no different, the 2 evenly matches teams kept fighting for posession and fighting to get momentum to carry into the 2nd half, but neither side was giving up anything. Top scorers for the half were Tyran on 19 for Killa Beez and Jarryd T on 15 for Mambas, Mambas got more steals and was able to draw the game up at 28 a piece, with some players struggling to put the ball in, some others stepped up and kept the game close as the 2nd half break gave them a chance to recoup for the final 2 quarters..
3rd quarter action saw a little change in some tempo with both teams pushing the paint points and putting in work on rebounds. KillaBeez having more steals at this point but were down by 3 at the break, a big defensive quarter for both teams, the extra hustle and longer game wearing down some of the weekend athletes, it woudl be a test of endurance as the break went back and forth, Yo Mambas having more luck on their shots so far in the game. It was so even at this point, it was anyones game going into the last quarter of action.
4th quarter was all Yo Mambas, as the shooting woes of KillaBeez continues, their usual sharpshooters barely getting looks or buckets due to the defense from Yo Mambas. Yo Mambas just simply turned it up a gear and went on the break scoring many unanswered points, Outhustling and pushing for every opportunity and it paid off downt he stretch as they were able to convert turnovers to points… getting them a 23-9 run to finish the quarter and take the game and the Div2 Championship!
Big mention to the top performers, KillaBeez had Tyran on a huge 26 points 3 steals on 56% shooting including 6 threes, and Wayne Mamba J on 16pts 5 rebs, and of course Cap Stu Mac with 10 rebounds to support his team. But the other team was firing all weapons on all cylinders! From Yo Mambas, the winners, the team pitched in and all made big shots in the runs, but the MVP of this finals outshone all with an all round game, Jarryd getting 23pts 10 rebounds 3ast and 3stls, a solid double double! Jake Egan super efficient with 17 points, and Ali M stepped up in the 2nd half with 13pts 5 stls & 4 assists.
Great matchup with both teams playing high level ball but some were just luckier than others, a new Div 2 champion to enter Div1 with the big bois to see what they can do, KillaBeez look to get the next season underway and take their revenge as we look to 2021 season.
DIv 3 was set to go off with the two Blue teams going at it, with a twist, the kents wore their Mambas jerseys sporting a black kents strip which seemed to give them an extra boost as they looked to notch their first chip against their blue rival Fumblerz who have had a great season with a huge squad to take on the divisions rivals, none bigger than the 1st place Kents.
1st quarter seemed like a warm up for both teams, like 2 boxers testing each others range and footwork, the full court press was expected, and the Fumblerz were shook from the start trying to use their energy to get the ball past halfway, and Kents did it well, getting 6 steals in the first quarter forcing 9 turnovers from Fumblerz and limiting them to 5 clean shots to which they hit 40%, The kents had more chances but couldn’t get clean looks past the hustling Fumblerz defense, this game would be hectic if the 1st quarter was an indication.
2nd quarter started with the same tempo and style of play employed by both sides, Kents more than doubling their steals last quarter with 9 steals but the shooting woes continued as Fumblerz have them trouble, but still so far had forced 19 turnover, huge and game changing, the score was 23-13 by the hald with leading scorers Danny B with 4 from Fumblerz and Chris W with 13 points hitting 2 threes so far. Fumblerz won on the boards 20 to 10, scrapping for the Kents misses and tried to get some momentum, Fumblerz unable to take many 3s this quarter..
The third part of this game took off with the kents slowing down a bit but still improves their lead by 2 points from forcing more turnovers and keeping the Fumblerz in the 1st half of the court as they broke the game up keeping up the scrappiness. Chris W hit 2 threes this quarter putting some daggers into the Fumblerz plans and the energy just kept coming, requiring all the Fumblerz subs to get a piece of the action as they got thrown at the Kents to see if something could get going in the FUmblerz favor going into the 4th
The final period, the 4th, where dreams are made and broken, in this case, the FUmblerz came out with a 16-10 run to end the game but earlier were stifled like they were he whole game but saw some daylight with Nitin getting a few to go insde and the guards getting some layups to go, but the kents did enough to keep them at bay, still defending and trying to keep the control in their hands, the gap in the end was only 7 points, as close as it could be considering Kents have been some dominant through the season. FUmblerz put back down a notch on the ranks in the final game as they finish up 2nd after this result, a great game and finals to finish up the proceedings!
Top performers for Fumblerz saw Nitin A with an almost double double 8pts 11 rebs on 57% shooting and Captain Danny B pushing through some injury woes still able to get team high 9 points from some faders which usually gets the team through, Mitch J big on the glass with 9 boards whilst on the Kents it was all in with their troops putting in work, Chris W the game high with 22 points 4rebs and 3 steals shooting 57% from deep, an MVP performance for the finals. Backup up by Joe P from the mid range getting the Gary Payton Award for his glove skills with huge 8 steals to go with his 11 points. Big man J Morley with a solid Big man statline 9 rebs 4 assists 3stls and 2 blocks! Landon M a thief in the night with 6 steals too
Kents crowned champions as their defense shone through getting 21 steals, almost more than their 22 rebounds whilst forcing 28 turnovers from Fumblerz, as per their name! Great work! Kents level up and have evolved and are ready for Div 2 now they have nothing to prove in Div3!
Next season starts in a few weeks! Get ready, it’s a big one flowing into next year so get ready and stay ready, as Season 17 of Wednesdays is set to tip off mid November!
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