FINAL FOUR - Battle of the BALLERS

A sucessful end to a sucessful season began with Baller vs. Baller showdown. The #7 seeded Boogie Ballers began the contest against #5 Bay Area Ballers without their frontline of Rico, Oscar and big man Wil Wheatley immediately putting the Bay Ballers in the drivers seat by jumping out to an 18-12 lead at the end of thr first period. As the first quarter was ticking down in walked Oscar and Wil to the joy of team captain Brian Velasquez. Without the chance to warmup, Capt. Velasquez inserted the two late-comers into the game and their presence was felt right away as they held the Bay Ballers to 10 second quarter points cutting their lead to 28-26 at the half.

Despite his late arrival, Wheatley still managed to put together a decent game (12pts, 7rebs), but it was the combination of PG Sean Caiola, who connected on four long balls on his way to a 20pt night and SF Quinn (11pts, 9rebs) that kept Boogie in it throughout.

On the other side of the ball, the Bay Ballers were led by their star tandem of Tim Wang and Ryan Tana (14pts each). Efficient shooting from the field (55%) and free-throw line (5-for-6) in the 3rd quarter allowed the Bay Ballers to extend their lead to six at the end of three.

The Boogie squad turned up the heat in the 4th and aggresively took the lead at 51-50 with a little over 3:00 left on the clock. For the rest of the game it was clutch play after clutch play that dominated the contest. Back to back 3's by Caiola and Quinn, then a sweet drive to the bucket by Karl Reyes plus two made free throws tied the game up at 56-56. Boogie had one last chance in regulation and with 5.6 remaining could not get off a shot in time and the game moved on into an overtime period.To the delight of those in attendance the following three minutes was filled with intensity and excitment! With 1:30 left, Boogie held a 60-59 lead, and after a highlight worthy block by Conrad Fox the Bay Ballers rushed the ball downcourt. After a miss by Pat Crowley, Capt Tim Wang grabbed the most important offensive rebound and put back of the season making the score 61-60. Less than 0:30 left in OT, Rico Redd (who scored all 6pts in the extra session for Boogie) hit two clutch free throws to retake the lead. After a timeout, the Bay Ballers tried to use most of the remaining time before taking their shot. The ball was swung around to Tana and with time running down Tana's 3pt shot from the wing hit every part of the soft rim before dropping down and giving the Bay Ballers a 64-62 lead with 3.6 seconds left. Timeout Boogie. Where would Boogie go? Inside to Wheatley? Caiola for a game-winning 3? Both great choices, but the ball went to Rico for a drive to the bucket. Unfortunately for Boogie, Rico's shot came up short giving the Bay Ballers a much deserved victory and a ticket to the Championship!