mediabistro.com Basketball Association
@ PS 134, NYC
March 7, 2008
GAME SUMMARIES, LEAGUE LEADERS, SCHEDULE, PICTURES, and TEAM ROSTERS below.
Week Five
Performance Enhancing Hugs 41, Client-9 39
With a 41-39 come-from-behind victory over Client-9 in week 5's game, the Performance
Enhancing Hugs established itself as the team to beat in MBA season 8. After
an ugly week 1 loss, the team has run off five straight victories against the
league's toughest only competition. The only question now
is whether it can handle the pressure of being the Alpha dog.
At first, it didn't look like the Shanoff-less squad could withstand the heat on Tuesday night against a determined, if undermanned, Client-9 squad. With Nate "Chuck Hustle" Purinton taking the place of Chris "Scoring Punch" Ytuare, lost to a season-ending knee injury in week three, the Client jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, thanks to 8 points from the Commish, and stormed to a 17-12 halftime lead.
Lacking the fiery halftime speeches of their missing captain (who, the team agreed, played his best game) the Hugs could have rolled over. Instead, it showed its trademark resilience, chipping away at the lead and eventually moving ahead with Tom squared (Stein 15 points, Fleischman 8) leading the way.
Client 9 suddently found itself down by four with 30 seconds to play, but drew even thanks to sloppy Hug ball handling. After Bean and Co. finally got the ball up court and settled into its offense, a questionable foul on 9's defensive stalwart Steve Krakauer put Fleischman on the line, where he confidently knocked down the front end of a one-and-one. Client, tiring and unable to secure the rebound, was forced to fouled Bean, who also went one for two. Those hoping for a storybook finish were sorely disappointed when two Davis turnovers within a span of four seconds (how is that even possible?) gave the Hugs the victory.
In what will be remembered as an excellent debut, Purinton scored 11 in the losing effort, but did take what might have been the first charge in MBA history.
Client-9 — Noah 16, Steve 8, Nate 11, Jeremy 2, Brian 0, Mike 0
Performance Enhancing Hugs — Amy 0, Tom F. 8, Geoff 6, Bean 11, Dan 1, Tom S. 15
The Super Delegates 53, La Resistance 35
Eamon Hickey picked the right time to play in his first game — partially because his team only had three players (Amy "Ironwoman" Hauck stepped in as a sub) — but also because The Super Delegates offense needed a shot in the arm.
And provide that adrenaline Hickey did. After five minutes, the score was New Guy 8, everyone else 0. Although the silky smooth jumper didn't find the bottom of the net for the rest of the half (money quote from the impromptu postgame press conference: "I have about six things wrong with my body. I knew I only had about five good minutes.") La Resistance couldn't recover from its opponent's fast start, falling behind 29-16 at the break.
Inspired play by the Fitzgibbons pair kept La Resistance within the striking distance of a long-range missile, but without the scoring punch of Steve "South Pacific" Friedman, it couldn't overcome the Delegate's balanced offense (17 for Matt, 15 for Eamon, 10 for Dan and 8 for Jacob).
La Resistance — Duy 12, Mike 4, Colin 13, Carmen 0, Jessica 6
The Super Delegates — Matt 17, Jacob 8, Eamon 15, Dan 10, Amy 3 more than she scored for her real team
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Week Four
The Super Delegates 42, Client-9 26
The Super Delegates — Jacob 3, Jane 5, Matt 12, Dan 8, Shanoff (sub) 0, Greg 10, Steve 4
Client-9 — Noah 5, Gene 13, Steve 4, Brian 4, Michael 0
Performance Enhancing Hugs 54,
La Resistance 51
Performance Enhancing Hugs — Shanoff 2, Bean 19, Geoff 7, Tom S. 19, Tom F. 0, Ivan 7, Dan 0
La Resistance — Steve 13, Mike 6, Colin 20, Carmen 2, Noah (sub) 10
After losing two games, the Commish is still too depressed to do write-ups. Sorry. Back next week.
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Week Three
Client-9 41, La Resistance 34
When a team's best player goes down minutes into a game, but the team rallies for the victory, it's a special win. Call it luck; call it heart; call it the Ewing Theory; call it whatever you want — Client-9 deserves Tuesday night's hard-earned W.
After scoring the first five points of the game, Chris Ytuare drove to the lane and went down in a heap. Shell-shocked (and forced to pick up Brendan "brother of Colin" Fitzgibbons as a fifth man), an undersized, outmanned Client-9 squad found itself down 17-12 at halftime.
Forced out of its pestering man-to-man defense by the deft touch of Steve "MVP" Friedman (17 points) and the big body of Colin "brother of Brendan" Fitzgibbons (9), Client-9 came out of halftime in a 2-3 zone with Noah "Shaq's my free throw coach" Davis pluggingthe middle as an unconventional 5'10" center. Despite the defensive scheme's obvious shortcomings (get it), La Resistance couldn't solve the zone, and Client-9 used the unrelenting energy of Fitzgibbons, 10 points for Gene Walsh, and 6 from Brie "Dirk's got nothing on me" O'Reilly to pull away.
Steve "Best birthday ever" Krakauer had four points to commemorate his 24th.
Client 9 — Noah 10, Gene 10, Steve 4, Brie 6, Chris 5, Brendan 6
La Resistance — Steve 16, Colin 9, Steve 7, Carmen 0, Jesse 0, Mike 4
Performance Enhancing Hugs 52, The Super Delegates 48
For the
second week in a row, Jacob Craycroft was a whirling dervish of scoring wonder,
as the left-handed shooting guard finished with a team-high 16. However, it
wasn't enough, as the hot shooting of Bean led The Performance Enhancing Hugs
— a name that ages like a fine wine — to a 52-47 overtime victory.
Thanks to 10 first half points from Dan Bollin and 6 from Craycroft, the Super D's lead 23-19 at the break. The margin fluctuated up and down throughout the second half, but the Hugs could not take the lead and with less than a minute to go, found themselves down six.
Enter Bean.
While Steve Blinn pleaded with his Delegates teammates that the game was not over, the rock solid Hugs point guard drained one three-pointer, then another 30 seconds later to tie the game and send it into the first overtime of MBA season 8. The Sweet Sixteen was still 48 hours away, but somewhere Gus Johnson was screaming uncontrollably in excitement.
In OT, the Hugs used its balanced offense to outscore a tired Delegates five. When the final whistle blew, Bean, the boys, and Amy "4 points a game" Hauck, walked away with a well-earned win.
Performance Enhancing Hugs — Dan 10, Tom S. 8, Tom F. 7, Bean 17, Amy 0, Ivan 12
The Super Delegates — Steve 4, Jacob 16, Jane 4, Dan 16, Greg 8
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Week Two
The Super Delegates 44, La Resistance 35
The night's first game was a battle of attrition between two undermanned squads. With no subs on either side, La Resistance forged ahead to an early lead, only to be caught by a determined Super Delegates squad midway through the first half. Led by the deft left hand of Jacob Craycroft, SD led 34-22 when the half-time horn sounded.
With both teams visibly tired from the punishing pace of the opening stanza, jumpers and layups starting falling short, while errant passes kept those behind the scorer's table on their guard. La Resistance battled valiantly, but even the arrival of Mike Kim with seven minutes to go couldn't spur the charge the team needed, as they fell 44-35. Craycroft finished with 18 and Dan Bollin — fighting off the distraction of his impending trip to see the elephants — chipped in 8 for the winners. Steve "Just Give Him the MVP Trophy" Friedman had 17 in a losing effort.
The Super Delegates — Jacob C. 18, Jane 4, Matt 6, Jenny 7, Dan 8
La Resistance — Jesse 2, Duy 8, Steve 17, Carmen 4, Jessica 2, Mike 0
Performance Enhancing Hugs 65, Client-9 48
With the big men for The Performance Enhancing Hugs and Client-9 — Tom "Had to See About a Girl" Fleischman and Brian "Hangtime" Huss, respectively — otherwise indisposed, each team spent Tuesday night seeking an answer.
For the Hugs, that answer was Tom Stein.
The lanky swingman with an unstoppable inside-outside game dropped 22 on a shell-shocked Client-9 squad that spent the moments before tip-off committing each other's names to memory. This strategy didn't help as they quickly fell behind 29-4 thanks to the Hugs' unbelieveably hot shooting. [Editor's Note: Stop being a sore loser.]
A Client-9 timeout and a switch to man-to-man defense did little to stop the offensive onslaught of Stein, the slippery Bean, and the other Hugs, who led 40-19 at the half.
Client-9 battled back at the start of the second half, eventually pulling within 8, but key offensive rebounds by the Hugs bruisers keep the lead safe. When the horn sounded, the team had its first win of the season, 65-48. Captain Shanoff finished with 15 points (6 scored on banked home three-pointers that he notably did not call), while Noah tallied 14, Chris had 12, and Steve cracked double digits with 10 in the losing effort.
Performance Enhancing Hugs — Amy 2, Dan S. 15, Geoff 8, Bean 10,
Dan V.2, Tom 22, Ivan 6
Client-9 — Noah 14, Steve 10, Brie 6, Gene 4, Jeremy 2, Mike 0,
Chris 12
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Week One
La Resistance 46, Performance Enhancing Hugs 40
The opening game of MBA season 8 was a seesaw battle throughout, with La Resistance repelling the Performance Enhancing Hugs — whose brilliant name was worth the wait — late-game efforts and walking out of the gym with a 46-40 victory.
The first half saw players from each side learning their roles and, in some cases, their teammates names. The at times disjointed opening 20 minutes ended with Performance Enhancing Hugs on top, 21-20, behind 7 points from its hot-shooting point guard David "Bean" Bienenstock.
The teams continued to slug it out after the break with neither team opening up a lead of more than 5. After a Jesse Wright trey from deep in the corner tied the game at 39 with just over 4 minutes to play, La Resistance found its second (third? fourth?) wind and outscored a tired Hugs side 7-1 to pull away and earn the W.
In what might later be seen as the first step in an MVP campaign, Steve Friedman had 23 for the winners, despite twice missing the front end of a one-and-one late in the game. Jessica Fitzgibbons chipped in 10 in the winning effort, while Bean dropped 15 and Geoff "Buy a Belt" Nelson finished with 8.
La Resistance — Steve F. 23, Jesse W. 3, Mike K. 2, Jessia F. 10, Dennis
6, Dave W. 2
Performance Enhancing Hugs — Dan S. 4, Geoff N. 8, Tom F.
5, Ivan F. 2, Amy H. 2, Dan V. 2, Bean 15, Tom S. 2
Client-9 44, The Super Delegates 32
In the night's second game, Client-9 (formerly The Walkabouts) found itself
shorthanded after 2 late scratches — Brie O'Reilly (sick) and Jeremy Forsythe
(architecture-related absence) — left the team with only 5 players. Thanks
to a hot-shooting first half from Chris Ytuare and solid all-around play from
Gene Walsh, C-9 prevailed over a feisty Super Delegates squad, 44-32.
While both sides struggled early on, Ytuare found his touch first, netting 14 in the opening period, leading his team to a 24-15 advantage. Jacob Craycroft (5 first-half points), Dan Bollin (4), and Matt Creamer (4) kept SP in the game.
The first few minutes of the second half found Client-9 cold, while The Super Delegates solved the porous 2-3 zone thrown at them and scrapped back into the game. After a key timeout called by Brian "Hangtime" Huss, C-9 emerged refreshed and refocused. The Super Delegates clamped down on Ytuare (1 point after the break), but had no solution for the crafty Walsh, who scored 7 after halftime for a game-high 15.
Client-9 — Noah D. 6, Steve K. 4, Brian H. 4, Gene W. 15, Chris
Y. 14
The Super Delegates — Matt C. 8, Jacob C. 7, Jane R. 0, Steve B.
4, Jenny E. 7, Dan B. 6
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League Leaders
1. Steve F. (La Resistance) — 17.25 points/game (Total points: 56)
2. Bean (Performance Enhancing Hugs) — 14.4 ppg (TP: 72)
3. Colin F. (La Resistance) — 14 ppg (TP: 42)
4. Tom S. (Performance Enhancing Hugs) — 13.2 ppg (TP: 66)
5. Matt C. (The Super Delegates) — 10.75 ppg (TP: 43)
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| WEEK ONE | 7:15 pm | La Resistance (1-0) 46 v. Performance Enhancing Hugs (0-1) 40 |
| 03.11.08 | 8:15 pm | The Super Delegates (0-1) 32 v. Client-9 (1-0) 44 |
| WEEK TWO | 7:15 pm | La Resistance (1-1) 35 v. The Super Delegates (1-1) 44 |
| 03.18.08 | 8:15 pm | Performance Enhancing Hugs (1-1) 65 v. Client-9 (1-1) 48 |
| WEEK THREE | 7:15 pm | La Resistance (1-2) 34 v. Client-9 (2-1) 41 |
| 03.25.08 | 8:15 pm | Performance Enhancing Hugs (2-1) 52 vs. The Super Delegates (1-2) 47 |
| WEEK FOUR | 7:15 pm | The Super Delegates (2-2) 42 v. Client-9 (2-2) 26 |
| 04.01.08 | 8:15 pm | La Resistance (1-3) 51 vs. Performance Enhancing Hugs (3-1) 54 |
| WEEK FIVE | 7:15 pm | Client-9 (2-3) 39 v. Performance Enhancing Hugs (4-1) 41 |
| 04.08.08 | 8:15 pm | La Resistance (1-4) 35 v. The Super Delegates (3-2) 53 |
| WEEK SIX | 7:15 pm | Performance Enhancing Hugs v. The Super Delegates |
| 04.15.08 | 8:15 pm | La Resistance v. Client-9 |
| WEEK SEVEN | 7:15 pm | La Resistance v. Performance Enhancing Hugs |
| 04.22.08 | 8:15 pm | The Super Delegates v. Client-9 |
| WEEK EIGHT | 7:15 pm | La Resistance v. The Super Delegates |
| 04.29.08 | 8:15 pm | Performance Enhancing Hugs v. Client-9 |
| WEEK NINE | 7:15 pm | La Resistance v. Client-9 |
| 05.06.08 | 8:15 pm | Performance Enhancing Hugs vs. The Super Delegates |
| WEEK TEN | 7:15 pm | La Resistance v. Performance Enhancing Hugs |
| 05.13.08 | 8:15 pm | The Super Delegates v. Client-9 |
| WEEK ELEVEN | 7:15 pm | #1 seed v. #4 seed |
| 05.20.08 | 8:15 pm | #2 seed v. #3 seed |
| WEEK TWELVE | 7:15 pm | Semifinal Loser #1 v. Semifinal Loser #2 |
| 05.27.08 | 8:15 pm | Semifinal Winner #1 v Semifinal Winner #2 |
Pictures
More pics here.
 So much thigh |  Is that Jason Kapono? |
 Client-9 plays solid interior defense |
 Purinton or Lebron? |
 Steve Freidman — Force of nature |
 Dan Shanoff — Probably cheating |
 That's not going in |
|
 Pure heart |
 Oh, the drama |
 Someone finally scores |
|
La Resistance Duy Linh Tu Carmen Scheidel Steve Friedman Dave Wilson (IR) Mike Kim Colin Fitzgibbons Jessica Fitzgibbons Jesse Wright |
Performance Enhancing Hugs Dan Shanoff |
The Super Delegates Matt Creamer Jenny Eggers Eamon Hickley Jacob Craycroft Jane Rizzo Steven Blinn Dan Bollin Mike Mongillo (IR) |
Client-9 Noah Davis Brie O'Reilly Steve Krakauer Jeremy Forsythe Chris Ytuare (IR) Gene Walsh Brian Huss Michael Moi Nate Purington |
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