Photo: Casey Lee
(Wednesday, August 5th) AH-HAA! Rapper Jadakiss, who hails from Yonkers, NY, was in the park to support his squad – Team 914 – as they squared off in the night cap against the defending EBC champions – Sean Bell All-Stars in a game taped on MSG-TV with a packed crowd. Team 914 jumped out the gate and scored at-will in the first five minutes, turning the game into a blowout early on. Aaron “The Problem” Williams could not be stopped! He had 14 points in the first quarter alone! White Plains native Torey “Stix” Thomas dropped 9 points in the first quarter to contribute and grabbed nearly every board. By halftime, Team 914 led 46-17 with most fans looking forward to talking to Jada-MUAH! after the game rather than seeing the second half. Kyle Cuffe, a former St. John’s standout, added 13 points for Team 914.
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
In the second half, Sean Bell led the charge in hopes of a comeback. Cameron Tyler, a three point assassin, scored 14 points of his 16 total points in the second half. Like Aaron Williams as a Delaware State alum, Stefan Malliet, added 15 points but to no avail as it was too late for Sean Bell All-Stars. Coach Rah did not look too pleased with his team’s first quarter performance that led to his team’s meltdown.
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
In the fourth quarter, the real story seemed to be Rice HS player Deshawn Suber who came off the bench for Team 914. Dubbed “The Freshman” by MC Boobie Smooth, the kid looked nice on the court. After a couple buckets, Boobie would yell – THE FRESHMAN! Would you let a Freshman do that to you? – as Suber scored and got back on defense. Apparently, some people in the crowd claimed The Freshman’s nickname to be Ferrari but we all know you have to earn your nickname at the Rucker!
Final Score: Team-914 80, Sean Bell All-Stars 66
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
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FIRST GAME. Hustle Hard (also known as the X-Men from Brooklyn) were ready from the start! Before the game started, countless players were shooting around and looked in good form in a battle for a playoff spot versus Danny’s All-Stars. Despite a delayed start, the game started out as a hard-nosed defensive-low scoring game. Sean Dantzler nailed four 3-pointers throughout the game and finished with 18 points to lead the way for Hustle Hard. Danny’s squad would not quit as Shabbie Stanley (14 points) quietly kept his team in the game with mid-range jumpers and put-backs. Not so quiet, Quinton “T2″ Hosley (24 points) was the alpha and the omega for Danny’s All-Stars with a couple dunks that OOH’ed the crowd to go along with some smooth shooting from beyond three point land. After three quarters, Hustle Hard was up by ONE point, 52-51, in a game where nobody could predict the outcome.
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
The intensity turned up in the second half even more from Hustle Hard player Al Young who kept his team in the game with 14 second half points and some unselfish dimes dished to teammate J. Toner (12 points). In the final seconds of the fourth, Hustle Hard hit a jumper to go up by one point with two seconds left. On a last second attempt, Jazz “Total Package” Mansell threw a full-court pass to T2, but it was deflected out of bounds as Hustle Hard held on for the win against Danny’s All-Stars, 66-64. The victory gave Hustle Hard a playoff berth and knocked Danny’s All-Stars out of postseason contention.
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
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Photo: Casey Lee
**Note: In-between games, Team Cam’ron and Angie Martinez finished up their game that was PPD due to the lights going off at the park earlier in the summer. With less than 10 minutes to play, Team Cam’ron handed Angie Martinez their first loss of the season – and no undefeated teams in the regular season. Despite the loss, Angie Martinez still made first place after a win over the Ether Boys earlier in the season. Unfortunatel for Kareem Reid and Team Cam’ron, their season ended because Evil Training (with the same record at 2-3) held a victory over them earlier in the summer. Anthony “Africa” Pimble provided highlights galore regardless of the loss.
Photo: Casey Lee
Photo: Casey Lee
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Men’s Unlimited
Division A
**(4-1) Team 914
**(3-1) Chris Brown All-Stars
**(3-1) Sean Bell All-Stars
**(2-2) Hustle Hard
(1-4) Danny’s All-Stars
(0-4) Tru Warriors
—
Division B
**(4-1) Angie Martinez All-Stars
**(4-1) Ether Boys
**(3-2) Prime Time
**(2-3) Evil Training
(2-3) Team Cam’ron
(0-5) DJ Webstar All-Stars
**Clinched Playoffs
—
Week 8 Scores:
(Mon) NO MEN’S GAMES
(Tue) NO MEN’S GAMES
(Wed) Hustle Hard 66, Danny’s All-Stars 64
(Wed) Team-914 80, Sean Bell All-Stars 66
(Thu) NO MEN’S GAMES
*Prime Time (wins by FORFEIT) 2, DJ Webstar 0
*Evil Training (wins by FORFEIT) 2, DJ Webstar 0
–
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
———————————————-
Team 914 claims first place due to its 4 wins but in an almost three-way tie, here’s how each team pitted against each other regardless of wins:
*Team 914 was in first place with -8 and +14 points
(Week 4) Thu, July 9 – Chris Brown 75, Team-914 67
(Week 8 ) Wed, August 5 – Team-914 80, Sean Bell All-Stars 66
——————————————————————————————
*Chris Brown came in second place with -8 and +8 points
(Week 2) Wed, June 17 – Sean Bell All-Stars 71, Chris Brown 63
(Week 4) Thu, July 9 – Chris Brown 75, Team-914 67
——————————————————————————————
*Sean Bell came in third with -14 and +8 points
(Week 2) Wed, June 17 – Sean Bell All-Stars 71, Chris Brown 63
(Week 8 ) Wed, August 5 – Team-914 80, Sean Bell All-Stars 66
-
*Because of their win in week 3, Angie Martinez claims first place.
(Wk 3) Wednesday, July 1: Angie Martinez 81, Ether Boys 71
——————————————————————————————
*Because of their win against Cam’ron in week 2, Evil Training claims the final playoff spot.
(Wk 2) Tuesday, July 23: Evil Training 87, Team Cam’ron 67
–
PLAYOFF BRACKET:
——————————————
August 10-13, 2009
(Mon) Ether Boys vs. Primetime @ 6:00pm
(Mon) Chris Brown vs Sean Bell @ 8:00pm
(Tue) Angie Martinez vs. Evil Training @ 6:00pm
(Tue) Team 914 vs. Hustle Hard @ 8:00pm
SEMI-FINALS
(Wed) Ether Boys/Primetime Winner vs. CB/Sean Bell Winner
(Wed) Angie/Evil Training Winner vs. 914/Hustle Hard Winner
(Thu) CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
August 7th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
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August 8th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Dave von BOOM says:
Are there Videos (MSG recorded) or live streams of the games for international coverage?
August 9th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Casey Lee says:
Check out MSG.com and look at the videos by searching EBC.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Gerald Narciso says:
Nice Piece Casey. I remember Kyle Cuffe. I used to love the Red Storm team they profiles on ESPN’s The Season. Does Anthony Glover or Erik King ever play? Also where’s Marcus Hatten? Had a great street game. I know he reps Baltimore, wonder if plays in Pro Ams out there? If you are reading this Ali, where is Marcus Hatten??
August 10th, 2009 at 10:09 am
sure says:
@GN
Erik King put it down and was a promblem when he played. Anthony Glover is the lychpin for Bingo’s All-Stars. He is still good for his double double’s and plays abroad. They call him the correction officer. Very fitting. Man I wish Marcus Hatten would come out for a summer and hoop it up in the city. I’d figure the comp is better where he’s at. Who knows?
August 10th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Kenny Patt says:
Dwight Hardy’s game reminds me a little of Hatten. Hope he has similar impact @ St John’s
August 11th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Casey Lee says:
I am going to make a piece entitled “Where are you, Marcus Hatten?” I will interview St. John’s people and go to Baltimore in search of MH…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
August 13th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Shauna says:
Yeah marcus hatten is some where in the bronx? Seen him the other day? Great player. I wish he would be active in these city tournments…