W11: A division leaders win out, B Division leader upset

by Chuck Martin

Thursday, June 24, 2010 – San Francisco CA – The top A Division teams held serve in the penultimate week of Castro Basketball League (CBL) action, while the B Division leader skipped a beat, getting upset by the last place team. Team Jacob (6-3) wrapped up its season by edging Passion Posse (2-6) 56-53 to start the night, and then two ugly games, with a low scoring affair seeing Defenders (3-5) topping City Swishers (6-2) 34-32, and then High Tops (& Bottoms) (7-2) ending its season with a technical foul-marred game, beating Gay Fish (2-6) 42-30.

Team Jacob had nothing to play for but pride, having locked up the second seed in the playoffs. Passion Posse, came into the night tied for last with Gay Fish and looking to improve their playoff position. Passion Posse came out hitting, first a three, then a putback, to take a quick 5-0 lead. Team Jacob, not going quietly into the night, stepped up both its offense and its defense to tie the game at 7-7 after the first 5 minutes. Both teams then turned on the defense, yet Passion Posse was able to break through just a little bit more to take a 14-11 lead at the halfway point. The game began to turn into a running game as the teams flowed back and forth on the court, yet Passion Posse still held an edge, 22-20, with 5 minutes to go in the half. Team Jacob responded with 5 quick points to go up 25-22 at the 3;30 mark. Passion Posse came up with a block at the 20 second mark to get the last possession of the half and cut the deficit to 31-30.

The two teams traded baskets early, neither team really getting much of an edge before the other team responded in kind, and at the 10-minute mark, Team Jacob’s lead was exactly the same as it was ah halftime: 1 point, at 44-43. Passion Posse took the lead a short time later, and Team Jacob took it right back, keeping that 1-point lead at the 5-minute mark, 50-49. So it came down to who would hit late. Passion Posse made the first statement, working the ball in for a layup with 3:30 left to take the lead back at 51-50. Team Jacob got to the free throw line, but was called for a violation. Passion Posse was called for a foul on the other end, reacted, and was called for a technical foul. Team Jacob made 1 of 2 to tie it at 51-51, and then worked the ball in for a running layup with 1:30 left to take a 53-51 lead. Passion Posse drew a foul with 1:18 to go and made both knotting the score at 53-53. Team Jacob missed a long jumper, but Passion Posse turned the ball over trying to make a move. Team Jacob threw up an airball, and Passion Posse’s driving shot clanged off the back of the rim. Team Jacob snagged the rebound and called time out. They worked the ball in, but the shot rolled out, and then they got the rebound and put it back, getting fouled in the process, and taking a 55-53 lead with 2.2 seconds on the clock. They made the foul shot, and Passion Posse’s desperation halfcourt shot rattled and rolled around the rim before rolling out, preserving a Team Jacob 56-53 win.

With both teams having just 5 players, it wasn’t hard to expect that the B Division game between first-place City Swishers and last-place Defenders might be played at a bit of a slower pace, with all players needing to pace themselves for the full 40 minutes. The first half didn’t disappoint, as the score at the break was a mere 12-12. Defenders came out firing in the second half, making some tough shots against a tight Swisher defense, and with the dynamics of the game being what it was, the Swishers, although attempting to chip their way back into the game, were never able to make a push that would bring them back all the way, and it was only a made three-pointer with seconds left that made the final score of 34-32 as close as it was.

The evening ended with High Tops (& Bottoms), who wrapped up the top playoff seed a week earlier, facing a Gay Fish team looking to get a better playoff position of their own, especially after the other 2-5 team, Passion Posse, lost earlier in the evening. The first half was a defensive struggles with points very hard to come by–almost like a B Division game. With 5 minutes to go in the first half, High Tops (& Bottoms) held a slim 11-10 lead. The Tops suddenly broke out into an offensive onslaught, finishing the half on an 11-0 run to take a 22-10 lead into the break.

Gay Fish pushed hard to open the second half in an attempt to close the gap. And they did, a bit, to 28-19 in the first 5 minutes. Then both defenses really clamped down. Each team scored a whopping 1 point during the next 5 minutes, making it 29-20 with 10 minutes left. HIgh tops scored the next 5 quickly, first by getting 2 foul shots on a technical foul, and then a three, to push the lead to 34-20 with 8 minutes. to go. Gay Fish seemed to lose control, getting yet another technical foul called on them, and with 3:30 left, High Tops (& Bottoms) still maintained an 11-point edge at 36-25. They worked at milking the clock, and when Gay Fish got the ball, they pushed the ball up court quickly. They made a quick score, but then turned the ball over, leaving the score at 36-27 with 2:30 left. But Gay Fish was hit with another technical foul with 1:50 left, and High Tops hit one of the two, and then one of two “regular” foul shots to go up 38-27–and then got the rebound. Gay Fish went into foul mode with 1:33 left, but this time High Tops missed both. Gay Fish took the ball down court quickly and was fouled, making one of the two, and a scrum ensued. Gay Fish got a foul called in the melee, going to the line down 10 with 50 seconds left. They made one, and High Tops got the rebound and was fouled. They made both to push the lead to 40-29, but Gay Fish had too many players with too many fouls, and they were left with only 4 players. They were fouled on a drive, and made one of two. and High Tops turned the ball over. Gay Fish missed two threes, and High Tops was fouled again on the rebound with 22.5 seconds left, leading 40-30. High Tops made both for the final score of 42-30.

Next week wraps up the CBL regular season. The night’s first game sees the B Division basement dwellers playing for playoff seeding, with the loser getting the prize of facing the top seed to start their playoff run. Next is an A Division game with the same scenario. And finally, the two top B Division teams play what amounts to a playoff tuneup. However, there’s one additional potential twist in the B Division games, thanks to Defenders’ win this week. If Mack Attack loses and Moonlanding wins, both will finish at 4-5. Mack Attack won the season series 2-1, so they would get the tiebreaker and the #2 seed. But if Mack Attack loses and Defenders wins, again, both will finish at 4-5. But this time, Defenders won the head-to-head series against Mack Attack (2-1), which would bounce Defenders from finishing fourth to finishing second. (If Mack Attack wins, Moonlanding and Defenders merely play for straight-up playoff positioning.) All games are on the Mark Bingham court at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center, 100 Collingwood (behind Delano’s IGA), and are free for the public to view. And view the league schedule and game results here.