W12: Playoffs set, late B Division standings shakeup

by Chuck Martin

Thursday, July 1, 2010 – San Francisco CA – The playoffs are set. Gay Fish (3-6) edged Passion Posse (2-7) 40-36 to avoid going against league leader High Tops (& Bottoms) in the first round of the A Division playoffs. Positioning in the B Division got all shaken up; Defenders (4-5) got over on Moonlanding (3-6) 43-33 and Mack Attack (4-5) fell to City Swishers (7-2) 46-32, allowing Defenders to leapfrog into second place after winning the season series against Mack Attack, 2 games to 1.

Defenders, in its attempt to move up in the standings for playoff positioning, began its game against Moonlanding with just 4 players. Yet they were first on the board, with a three less than a minute in. Fortunately, two minutes in, they got a fifth player showing up 2 minutes in, so they were able to field a full team, although Moonlanding still had two subs. Defenders still held the early edge 5 minutes in, after hitting another three, 7-2, taking advantage of a moribund Moonlanding offense. Then it was Moonlanding’s turn. Over the next 15 minutes, they exactly reversed the run, making it 9-9 halfway through the period. Thus began the dogfight. The teams traded, baskets, foul shots, making it 11-11, 13-13, each team responding to the other’s advances, until Defenders grabbed a 19-15 lead with a three at the 2:20 mark. Each team scored one basket in the remaining time to leave Defenders leading 21-17 at the break.

Defenders opened up the second half with a quick 5 points in the first minute and a half, extending their lead to 26-17. Moonlanding came back with an inside move, but Defenders hit a three to make it 29-19. The scoring by the two teams slowed a bit, with Defenders being a bit slower, allowing Moonlanding to catch up; with 10 minutes left, Defenders’ lead was cut to 33-27. The teams again went into a bit of a scoring slump, but with 5 minutes to go, Defenders was still holding on to its edge, now at 38-31. Moonlanding had the fight in them, they did, and they hit a quick basket to make it 38-33. Defenders hit right back; a bank shot with 4:15 to go made it 40-33. After a foul shot, Moonlanding missed, and Defenders hit on a nice inside fed to make it 43-33 with 3 minutes to go. Moonlanding couldn’t connect on several shots their next possession. Defenders took an open shot early in their possession. It missed, but Defenders was fortunate to get a long rebound, and Moonlanding went into foul mode with 1:30 left. Defenders missed the first of a one-and-one and Moonlanding pushed the ball down court quickly, but missed again, and had to foul again. Defenders again missed the front end, and Moonlanding was fouled on the rebound. They missed, got the rebound, and put up a three. That missed too, and Defenders recovered and ended up winning 43-33.

In the battle to see who would face A Division first-place High Tops (& Bottoms) in the first round of the playoffs, Gay Fish drew first blood, but it was Passion Posse, and its quickness, that led through the first 5 minutes, 8-2. The two teams basically traded baskets over the next few minutes, keeping up a frenetic pace, and with 10 minutes left, Passion Posse had a 13-8 edge. Gay Fish was as persistent as Passion Posse was quick, and they were not about to let the game get out of hand. Slowly, they worked to close the gap, although at the 5-minute mark, it was still 16-12. The final 5 minutes of the half were really sloppy, marred by turnover after turnover, but with the help of a three in the final minute, Passion Posse took a 21-15 lead into the break.

Gay Fish began the second half the same way the began the first, by scoring the first basket. The difference was that they scored the second and third baskets as well, knotting the score at 21-21 less than 4 minutes in. Passion Posse pushed the lead back to 26-23. Gay Fish had a chance to close the gap, but missed 4 consecutive free throws. The did get the rebound on the last miss, leaving Passion Posse with a 28-25 edge with 10 minutes to go. The two teams kept battling, turning up the defense even more, and by the time just 5 minutes remained in the game, Passion Posse led by just 1, 30-29. Gay Fish scored tow quick baskets right after that to take a 33-30 lead, and Passion Posse called a timeout with 4:24 left to regroup. Passion Posse found a gap on their next possession, and Gay Fish came right back with a score. Passion Posse hit a three to knot it at 35-35 with 3:20 left, and Gay Fish was fouled on a layup attempt immediately afterward. Gay Fish’s free throw woes continued, as they missed both. Yet Gay Fish was fouled on the rebound, giving them two more chances at the charity stripe, and they again missed, leaving the game tied with 2 minutes left. Gay Fish broke the stalemate seconds later to go up 37-35. Passion Posse called a timeout, and then turned the ball over on the inbound. Gay Fish missed two close attempts, giving Passion Posse a chance to tie it yet again. But the Posse missed, and Gay Fish began to milk the shot clock with less than a minute to go, then worked the ball in for a layup with 25 seconds left. Passion Posse was fouled on their subsequent drive, going to the line, making one, then getting the rebound on the second miss. With the score 39-36 and 15 seconds left, Passion Posse put up a three that was just short, and had to foul with 0.7 left. Gay Fish made one to take the game 40-36.

Mack Attack had to win its game against first-place City Swishers to finish the regular season in second place and with a record above .500. They opened the game well, their long-range shots dropping, and well on the way toward that goal. The Swishers, having clinched the top seed, did not want to limp into the playoffs, and fought back to take a 23-21 edge at the half. The second half was a different story. The Swishers made enough of a defensive adjustment to shut down Mack Attack’s long-range game and was able to match their first-half score while holding Mack Attack to just 11 second-half points on its way to a 46-32 win.

Next week sees just one playoff game, the A Division 1st place (High Tops (& Bottoms) vs. 4th place (Passion Posse) matchup. Following that game is the league Fun Gayme. The Fun Gayme began last year as a way to have A and B Division players on the same team. Rosters will have 5 players from each division and alternate every 5 minutes: first all 4 B players will play for both teams, then all A players will sub in and play, and so on, throughout the game. 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.