Javion's Week 6 Review

Welcome back fans of the BBAL!  Week 6 of the 2025 season teased the playoffs that much more… However, like any week of the BBAL, we have nail-biters, one sided affairs, trade talk and even questions festering around the league. Enough talk, let’s dive into this week’s slate of games!

Gremlins vs CherryPickers 

The revenge arc for Ryan Sayers. A newer looking Gremlins squad that has shown potential in its recent weeks, yet still without a win. The CherryPickers have shown to be on the rise but, can they keep up with the rest of the league's talent? This game, likely most Gremlin games, started off solid and with hope. But, making matters worse, this team only had a 5 man lineup forcing less versatility on the floor and more fatigue. The flood gates creeped open closer towards the end of the second half, unfortunately. This game showed that for the Gremlins, once fatigue set in, it really made an impact especially defensively. Their leading scorer possessed just 19 points despite having 11 rebounds. Others chipped in, but you can’t blame this team for this loss, unfortunate and an outclassing from the Pickers. 

The Pickers were led by Sayers scoring 18 pts, including a three point shot that may be the best play of the season. Chase Broderick trailed him with 16, and off the bench Tyler Crespo was just the 4th best scorer with Andy Santiago ahead. This dominant performance from the Cherries led them to a 30 point, 86-56 victory.

Dragons vs Woodpeckers

Once again, two teams not at full strength, which we hope is not a recurring theme for the playoffs. Woodpeckers, without Aiden Sands, Elijah Eberly, etc. Dragons, without McCraken and Kevin Roldan.

This one was tough from the beginning for the Dragons. They continued to keep it close but could never overcome and take a consistent lead. It was a time where they’d just hope one of their proven buckets could put the team on his back. Guys like Elijah Terry and Anthony Henson, after his eye-opening performance last week. Unfortunately, their efforts just weren’t enough. Elijah Terry led the box score with 21 points, shooting 50% from the floor. Anthony Henson followed with 13 points, shooting 62% from the floor off the bench. Certainly hope to get more playing time from him, come Playoff BBAL. 

On the opposing side, the Woodpeckers cruised to a victory with Luke Romball stealing the shine with 26 points and 69% efficiency. Luke didn’t take that much because our Luka Dončić of the BBAL; Devin Atkinson put up a triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists! These two with a few role players like Ty Hilton strolled victorious to continue pecking, 71-60.

Bullies vs Huskies

This one on paper, looks far more appealing than it was to some. Bullies, being without their Captain Liam Besecker to a leg injury, the boys of MJM, Marqel and Topfloor were absent, as well as a few others which ultimately narrowed their rotation to just 5 players to start this Sunday. On the other hand, closer to a similar story with just 7 guys for the Wolf Pack, excluding their star, Timmy Edwards. For both of these teams, you just knew, it was time for some role players to truly sprout. 

Unlike every game this season, the Bullies started off ice cold. The opportunities were there, they simply just couldn’t fall. Likely, if tracked, one of the biggest scoring droughts we’ve seen from a team in league history. But, everyone surrounding the Sport Court knows that on the Sport Court, anything is possible. The Bullies were resilient and fought their way back under 5 minutes to go in the game, after not scoring for more than half of the first half. The Bullies were kept afloat by another MVP caliber guy, Move Gantz with 27 points this week and 18 from Jared Kumah. Erik Goldbach finished with 11, but none of these performances did enough to help this team overcome their lack of rotation obstacle. On the victorious side of things, the Huskies despite having an advantage with slightly more depth, starting out the game, they came to truly claim their #1 spot in this league. With the playoffs creeping up, it’s safe to say, this Huskies team probably has the most to prove considering how successful they are on a yearly basis in the regular season. Fluent basketball was played by the Huskies starting five this week, while Crew Wells led the pack with 17 points and 9 rebounds. His supporting cast nearly all scored above 10 points to will their team to a gritty win. The Huskies defeated the Bullies, 73-65 to further solidify the one seed.

Lanc Show vs 8 Balls

Both these teams are having unexpectedly rocky seasons thus far this year. Availability hasn’t been a strong suit but, the playoffs always includes a time where at least one team shocks the world. Back and forth affair from both sides of this matchup and with both teams lacking their stardom, some would say it was pretty evenly matched. The battle of the Engle Bros vs the Conway Bros. 

The 8 Balls, without their dynamic duo; Julian Collazo and Jason Kuntzelman. These guys truly needed a guy to step up and take charge with their tandem offense out of the lineup. Tyrell Melendez and company arrived. Tyrell finished with 21 points, and a steal, nearly shooting 60%. Jeff Espinal, who is having a quality bounce back season, trailed with 16 points, while the Conway brothers combined for 20.

For the purple and gold, no Ajani Simmons opened the doors for a Nas McFadden takeover, and of course; he delivered. He came through with a 30 bomb, 8 rebounds, and 4 forced turnovers while shooting 50% from the floor. Jack Engle scored 18 and Luke Pierson scored 10, with surprisingly a lack of rebounding numbers. This one was a good one coming down to Artie Poindexter free throws to seal the deal and he iced it, helping his team to a 76-72 win over the 8 Balls.

Tropics vs Titans

The battle of the Letter T teams, if you will. Primetime, short rotations on both ends, what better way to not only solidify a great game but, maybe flare some anxiety for the minutes these guys have to cover. Tropics, no Brad Atkinson with just a 6 man rotation. Titans, no Chase Yarberough with a 5 man rotation. Commissioner Johnny Besecker was absolutely flustered the entirety of the first half. Shots were there, he just couldn’t get them to fall. But, we all know the Commish never goes down that easy. Lock Haven QB and one of many hearts of this Titans team, Rob Footman took some of the load off Johnny’s shoulders, as well as a few buckets from Makai-Ortiz-Gray. This game was a nail biter most if not, the whole game. KJ Brownlee started to catch his stride later in the second half as well.

For the Tropics, it was an absolute masterclass from Millersville rookie, Ethan Benne. By far, the ROTY favorite but, this season's statistics may grant him something bigger. A comparison for this performance that comes to mind is definitely Kansas State, Michael Beasley. Ethan was just getting where he wanted and even if you felt it was contested well, it truly didn’t matter.  He finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and shot 50% from the floor. Ethan’s performance was a situation where you just had to be there to feel his dominance upon the Sport Court. Eli Basenga and John John Gillespie trailed him, combining for 28 points. Miguel Pena scored 12 as well. Even with the rotational advantage, this team down the stretch was not able to overcome the clutch genes nor the championship pedigree of this Titans roster. The Titans, of course, were led by M.O.G scoring 23 points, and 2 steals. Johnny arguably had an even better game considering his first half struggles, he finished with a double-double; 20 points, 15 rebounds. KJ Brownlee and Rob Footman combined for 32 as well. Shoutout to Trevor for holding it down for the UNC hoopers! Titans topped off the night in classic, ice-cold fashion with a 77-74 win.