Hi, This is Javion Rodriguez and I’m a 14 year old high school student hoping to achieve my dreams as a sports analyst. I’m going to be recapping the first round of the BBAL 2023 Playoffs. Let’s get straight into it.
The first game of the night was a dogfight between the defending champion Woodpeckers and the 1st year Huskies team hungry for an upset to shake up the playoff picture.
First, the Huskies as we know have a big 3 in MVP candidate Timmy Edwards, Eli Washington, and rookie DPOY candidate Jordan Tyson. They shot 49% from the field with a 19% 3pt percentage. Timmy Edwards shot an impressive 55% from the field on 33 attempts with a 0% 3pt percentage. He put up a double-double with 37 pts, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. Eli Washington shot a solid 40% from the field on 20 attempts and a 33% 3pt percentage. He also put up an expected game with 20 pts, 6 ast, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals. I would say his only downfall was 5 TOs and he nearly got ejected for complaining to refs and could’ve hurt the team by not getting back on defense, nonetheless he played good enough to win for his team. Rookie Jordan Tyson did as expected on the defensive side as he shot 43% with only 7 points. He had 2 steals, a block, and proved why he is the top DPOY candidate. Kai Cipalla stepped up with a solid 13 pts to help lead the Huskies to a 79-74 nail-biting upset. As for the defending champion Woodpeckers, they shot 43% from the field and 39% from the 3. Their captain Devin Atkinson put up a double-double with 23 pts, 8 ast, and 10 rebounds. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from three. Nevin Roman had 16 pts on regretful shooting splits with 25% from the field on 20 attempts and 29% from the 3 on 17 attempts. Elijah Eberly put up 19 pts and 2 blocks and great shooting with 89% from the field but ultimately hurt them with 6 TOs and a Huskies upset. A disappointing loss for the Woodpeckers but this is fuel to the fire started by the Huskies. Could this be the start of a surprise championship push for the young and hungry Huskies?
The second game was a surprising upset between the top seeded Gremlins and sneaky, threatening Titans. The Gremlins didn’t play as many expected, shooting 38% from the field and 27% from 3. They also had a momentum killing 13 TOs which built momentum for the Titans.
Late in the game, Ajani Simmons got ejected after multiple technical fouls for chirping at the refs repeatedly. Although, Ajani was shooting 33% for as many 3pt opportunities he was given, he could’ve helped the Gremlins hold onto this game. The Gremlins are a very resilient team but after losing Ajani, they couldn’t keep up and fell 74-61 to the Titans with a wave of momentum on their side by taking down the Gremlins! The Titans shot 48% from the field but only 25% from 3. Commissioner Johnny Besecker's struggles continued with a disappointing 17% from 3 despite having 23 pts. Former D1 hooper and dominant big man Antanee Pinkard looked unstoppable down low as he showed the Gremlins who their daddy is. Starting PG Robert Footman also put up 16 pts to keep the Titans moving on with confidence through the roof!
The third game was between a rookie sensational team Cherrypickers and veteran Tropics team. The Cherrypickers shot only 16% from 3 and 44% from the field but that didn’t stop Devonne Pinkard from DOMINATING 28pts with 9 rebounds nearly a double-double while shooting great with 65% from the field and 43% from 3 and his tall frame. As most would say the Cherrypickers are the deepest team in the league which helped them also succeed and defeat the Tropics.
The Tropics shot finished 43% from the field and an underperforming 24% from the 3. Sharpshooting star Brad Atkinson shot 17% from 3 and 48% from the field with 23 pts but 4 TOs which overall was underperforming for a star like him. Tyler Crespo shot 40% from the field and 33% from the field with 27 pts but also 5 TOs. The Tropics two most known stars combined for 9 TOs which just didn’t get the job done against a team like the Cherrypickers.
Overall, I believe this is just the start of the Cherrypickers deep playoff push and the start of a potential young dynasty!
The fourth and final game was between the 8 ball and the Bullies. Coming into this game, most people expected a good game. The 8 Ball came out the gates with a commanding lead led by Ross Conway and shot 45% from the field and 28% from 3 as a team. They also had minimal TOs with only 10 and played like such a great team with what felt like unlimited confidence. They also did a great job containing MVP front-runner Marqel Wansley who is the most electrifying player most would say. The bullies have struggled all year defensively and their struggles not only were defensively especially down the stretch but, offensively Marqel only dropped 23 pts, his shooting splits were just unlike him as he shot 41% from the field on 22 attempts and 29% from 3 on 14 attempts especially as frustration crept in with negative attitude towards teammates. His numbers didn’t show it much but he did everything he could in that hard fought battle but fell just short. Other key piece in Erik Goldbach struggling didn’t help them succeed which is why the 8 balls moved on and kept rolling down VICTORY LANE!
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