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2019 FALL | SEASON 45
WEEK 1
By: League Analyst
Contributing Writer
Outlawz vs. United
GOLD DIVISION
8:30 a.m.
Outlawz were led by the scoring duo of Fernando Ruiz and
Frank Morales - two players who were part of the original
Outlawz roster. The duo had strong season debuts for United GM
Daniel Donato, a former teammate who is retiring as a player at
the end of the season.
United
GM Daniel Donato finished with just 3 points as United
suffered their first loss of the season. Chris Avila, an
All Star last season, finished with 21 points on 53.8% shooting
while Jorge Parrales finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds,
and 4 assists. The former MVP has been in and out of Superstar
with an injury and he finished shooting 38.5% from the field en
route to 3 three-pointers. Omar Caro finished with 12
points, 3 assists while Chris Duran added 3 points, 6
rebounds.
Outlawz GM Fernando Ruiz was on fire finishing with 21
points and going 7-for-10 from 3-point range. Ruiz shot 63.3%
from the field and finished with 1 block, 2 rebound and 1 steal.
Frankie Morales led Outlawz with 4 assists and he finished with
a team-high, 22 points on 47.1% shooting. Melvin Segovia
also returned to the line-up, finishing with 12 points, 6
rebounds while Juan Rodriguez made his Outlawz debut with
4 points. Elias Ayala, Assistant Coach, finished with 4
rebounds while Rudy Hernandez made his Outlawz debut with
2 points. Notably missing was another Original Outlawz and
former Daniel Donato teammate, David Munoz. Munoz,
expected to join Gold Division team Bullets, is questionable on
his return to Outlawz.
Public Enemy vs. IHOB
BRONZE DIVISION
9:15 a.m.
Public
Enemy, Finalists last season, started the season with a huge win
over IHOB as Noel Marquez led all scorers with 32 points,
4 assists and 6 three-pointers. The Player of the Week shot
66.7% from the field as Public Enemy defeat IHOB, 63-47.
Tim
Austin made his Bronze Division debut finishing with 13
points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals. Jeremiah McCants added
6 points, 5 rebounds while Regis Bell added 4 points. The
team used a commanding 37-25 run in the 2nd half as Noel
continually played like chess while his opponents played
checkers. Noel's herky jerky moves produced several open shots
to the basket and it is becoming tradition that Noel wins Player
of the Week in the Season Opener, much like he did last season
when he was a rookie. The challenge now is for him to be
consistent all season and if Game 1 was any indicator, Noel
appears to be ready for the challenge.
"He's reading the floor well, the experience he had playing in
Gold last season is paying off for him," said a league
stats-keeper. "You can tell how confident he is now, Noel and
Tim should be one of the top duos in Bronze this season."
IHOB
isn't one to make excuses but IHOB's scramble to get players to
play this season was evident as team chemistry looked
questionable in their first game of the season. This isn't last
season's IHOB and only GM Arvin Delapaz remains. Arvin
led the team with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals while
Justin Antonio, a 100 point scorer, finished with 11 points,
3 rebounds and 1 assist. Justin, a former Adoboys All Star, has
been a Crossfit athlete after taking a break from Superstar and
his shot was a forgettable 1-for-10 from 3-point range in his
return to Superstar. Antwon Blocker added 10 points while
one of last season's best players, Alex Ochoa, finished
with 7 points, 9 rebounds. IHOB has a lot of talent and for all
their players to have bad games is rare so look for IHOB to
bounce back on Week 2.
Buckets vs. Bullets
GOLD DIVISION
10 a.m.
All
Star Sal Escandon was in mid-season form as Bullets beat
Buckets, 70-42. The All Star guard was 5-for-12 from 3-point
range (41.7%) as Bullets combined to shoot 11-for-35 (31.4%)
from beyond the arch. On the flip side, Buckets were a dismal
13% from 3-point range with only 5 players showing up in the
season opener.
Kevin Levingston led Buckets with 11 points while David
Ward made his Buckets debut with 11 points, 16 rebounds on
62.5% shooting (team-high). Kris Dick made his return to
Gold Division finishing with 9 points, 16 rebounds, and 2
assists. GM Jonathan Wynn struggled from the field with
just 2 points while Glenn Payne added 5 points. It was a
forgettable season opener for Buckets as GM Jonathan Wynn
explained the team's dismal start.
"We had 6 players not show up all of a sudden, we got talent but
man, they just couldn't show up this weekend," explained Wynn.
One of
those players were David Munoz, a former teammate of Wynn
who is playing for Bullets this season. One of the leading
scorers for the team last season, Munoz is now playing for
Bullets this season. Rick Gutierrez and Angel Romero
contributed with 12 points, 3 rebounds while Eric
Valentine finished with 9 points. Valentine led all players
in Superstar with 8 assists and he finished with a game-high, 3
steals.
Fire Squad vs. Public Enemy
GOLD DIVISION
11 a.m.
Former
Champions, Fire Squad, was supposed to come in to Season 45
re-loaded with former All Star, Marcus Eggum, joining the
team in the off-season. Public Enemy flipped the script by
beating Fire Squad by 39 points, 110-71.
Keise Champion, Player of the Week for Public Enemy, did not
miss a field goal until the 3rd quarter as the rookie made his
debut with 38 points, 8 three-pointers, and 6 assists. Keise
shot 70% from the field and was 8-for-13 (61.5%) from beyond the
arch. Center DJ McGee made his franchise debut for Public
Enemy and he had a double-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds on
52.4% shooting. Noel Marquez, Jeremiah and Nick
Da Quick each scored 10 points apiece for Public Enemy.
It's
not how you start, but how you finish, and historically, Fire
Squad is an awful team in the beginning of the season. Fire
Squad has a history of slow starts but when post-season comes
along, that's when the former Champions gets it going.
Brandon Ortiz made his return after sitting out of the Final
Four with a hand injury. The former Finals MVP finished with 23
points, 7 rebounds on 36.8% shooting while GM Otto Guillermo
added 11 points, 5 boards. Marcus Eggum made his Fire
Squad debut with 15 while David finished with 8 points, 5
boards. Shout out to Brandon Ortiz for sticking around after his
game to work on his free throws, an area he uncharacteristically
shot 36.4% shot from.
Smokin Aces vs. Blazers
BRONZE DIVISION
12 p.m.
Both
rookie teams, Smokin' Aces and Blazers, dueled in a high tempo
match-up that had Blazers ahead at the half, 45-39. Depth and
execution gave Blazers their first win of the season as Blazers
beat Smokin' Aces, 81-70.
Julian Chavez and Justin Chavez led the way for the
Boyle Heights team as Blazers had 2 players score 18 points
apiece to lead the rookies. Salvadar Gaseon rounded off
the top leading scorers and he finished with 13 points, 6
rebounds and 2 assists. The team shot 56.7% from the field and
forced 15 turnovers as 3 players had 2 steals apiece (Julian,
Justin Chavez and David Lujan).
Jacob Horan led Smokin Aces with 23 points while Joseph
Santana added 16 points, 9 rebounds. Jorge Caldero
added 11 points while John Yang added 8 points and
team-high in assists (2) and steals (4). The biggest takeaway
from Smokin Aces is that their opponents were young and in
basketball shape while Smokin Aces were out-ran by younger legs.
Heat Check vs. Spirits
GOLD DIVISION
1 p.m.
Heat
Check was on fire from the get-go as Sophomore Kyle Smith
had the team's first 8 points. Kyle went on to finish with 26
points, 11 rebounds and 5 three-pointers as Heat Check defeat
Spirits, 63-62.
Spirits may be a rookie team but the team showed experience,
grit and defensive tenacity. Three players led the team with 14
as Darius Spates, Lawrence and Moses Quan scored 14
points apiece. Quan led the team with 13 rebounds while Spates
grabbed a team-high, 4 steals. Spirits out-rebounded their
opponents, 43-34 and had 9 steals while their opponents
committed 14 turnovers.
"They're a middle of the pack Gold Division team," said a league
stats-keeper. "Once they start figuring it out, they should
climb to the upper half but Spirits is built on defense and they
were impressive in their rookie debut despite the loss."
Heat
Check was missing Isaiah Watson but Kyle Smith made sure
Heat Check had enough scoring power. Kyle was 50% from the field
while shooting 41.7% from 3-point range. He was double-teamed
several times down and based on his season opener, Kyle is
looking at another break out season. Ryan White was the
second leading scorer with 19 points, 13 rebounds while
Gabriel O. finished with 8 points. GM Chris Plantillas
finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and led Heat Check with
3 assists.
Fuerza vs. Relentless
BRONZE DIVISION
2 p.m.
There
are teams that thrive in the beginning, and then there are teams
like Fire Squad, Relentless, and Tune Squad that thrive late in
the season. The defending Champions, Relentless, started their
title defense with a loss as Fuerza surprised Relentless, 65-59.
Andre Walker made his franchise debut for Relentless and he
finished with 28 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Joel
Contreras added 10 points, 10 rebounds while Finals MVP,
Fabian Garcia added 8 points, 5 rebounds. GM Ruben
Ramirez finished with 5 points, 3 assists while All Star
Tony Gonzalez had 4 points, 3 assists. With a new scorer for
Relentless in Andre Walker, the team will go through periods of
adjustments and figuring out what their new roles are. The trio
of Joel, Tony and Fabian had plenty of shots last season but
with Andre leading the team with 21 field goal attempts, many
are wondering if the original Relentless players are content to
see their shot attempts go away.
"Not trying to start drama, but it's a natural observation,"
said a league analyst. "New guy comes in, takes more shots than
the original players, how happy are the original guys that the
new guy takes all the shots?"
Fuerza
played with nothing to lose because in the off-season, they
pretty much lost all their talent. The new look Fuerza lost key
players (college) in the off-season but the team played team
ball as four players scored double-digits in scoring. GM
Abner Rodriguez scored 18 points on 46.2% shooting while
Gerardo Sanchez added 15. Jesus Rios scored 13
points, 10 rebounds while Jonathan Sirait added 11.
Veteran Geo Bonilla scored 8 points as the team
combined for 8 assists.
Prodigy Plug vs. Stay Up
GOLD DIVISION
3 p.m.
Former
teammates linked up as Prodigy Plug took on Stay Up. Playoff P
arrived fashionably late against his former teammates but that
didn't stop him from scoring a game-high, 17 points as Prodigy
Plug defeat Stay Up, 51-39.
After
taking 2 seasons off, Playoff P brought his original team
back and he led Prodigy Plug with 4 three-pointers, 2 steals and
2 assists while shooting 42.9% from the field. Playoff P was in
playoff form getting into it with a rookie player from Stay Up.
All Star Kevin Price finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds
and 2 assists while James Magaway added 9 points, 2
assists. Bo Madut led the team with 15 boards while
Nephi Tofiga added 2 points, 3 rebounds. Missing were
Marcus Carter and Garrison Deshay, two Prodigy Plug
players that can score, rebound, defend, and fill up the
highlight reel for Prodigy Plug.
Stay
Up was led by rookie, Phil Aguninga who finished
with 16 points on 46.7% shooting. Phil, a referee last season,
led Stay Up in efficiency shooting 46.7% from the field while
dishing for a team-high, 2 assists. James Harris added 7
points and led the team with 17 rebounds while Burch Farrell
finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds. Stay Up has been called
out by numerous teams including Below The Rim and FOE but
GM Ty Su has managed to distance himself from the call outs as
Stay Up plays in the early morning games for the rest of the
season.
"That's a good way of ducking us," said Below The Rim GM, Darryl
Alexander.
Team Winners Only vs. Try Hards
GOLD DIVISION
4 p.m.
"America's Best Shooter" had a decision to make. Would he
commit to Winners Only, a team he chose to play for after East
LA Dream Team lost to the Champions in Season 44 or will he
choose to play for Try Hards, a team he won a Championship with
in the Labor Day Tournament?
Derrick Tamanaha led all scorers with 25 points, 4
three-pointers as Try Hards fall to the Reigning Gold Division
Champions, 71-63. Derrick faced double-teams and was defended
all night as Team Winners Only felt disrespected after Derrick
chose to play for his new team, Try Hards. It didn't seem to
phase Try Hards as they played without All MVP, Ryan Carter.
Fernando "Brodie" Ramos finished with 17 points, 3 rebounds
and 2 three-pointers while GM Rudy Hernandez added 9
points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. "Memo" Guillermo Lopez
added 7 points, 2 steals as Try Hards impressed their peers
playing without their go-to scorer.
"They can actuall play," said a player from Team Winners Only.
"Ryan takes a lot of the spotlight but we saw first hand that
the players from Try Hards can shoot and they're more than just
a 1-man team."
Team
Winners Only unveiled their new pink unis in honor of National
Break Cancer Awareness Month and the team is dedicating this
season to Sue Newton, Brock Newton's mother who passed
away from cancer. The Reigning Champions are playing with a
purpose as newcomer Angel Rivas led the team with 22
points on 72.7% shooting. Angel led the Champs with 6
three-pointers and was 66.7% from beyond the arch. Larry Dew
added 20 points, 5 rebounds while Braxton Taylor finished
with 9 points, 3 boards. Assistant Coach, Jeriko Santos
finished with 5 boards while GM Isaac Berliner added 3
points, 1 block and 1 assist.
Below The Rim vs Wastemanz
GOLD DIVISION
5 p.m.
Below
The Rim already had a 3-point assassin in All Star Jason Fisk
but add another 3-point assassin in Mike Peters and you
got an AUTOMATIC Finals appearance for Below The Rim this
season. Below The Rim defeated rookie team Wastamanz, 76-65.
In the
last 4 season, All Star Mike Peters' resume speaks for itself.
-
Finals appearance, Ball Broz (Summer 2018)
- Finals appearance, Sick Pick Ups (Fall 2018)
- 1st Round exit, East LA Dream Team (Winter 2019)
- Finals appearance, East LA Dream Team (Summer 2019)
Mike
led all scorers with 30 points and he was 7-for-14 (50%) from
3-point range and finishing with 3 assists, 4 rebounds while
shooting 52.6% overall. GM Darryl Alexander added 9
points, 9 boards while Raven King added 12 points, 10
boards. Tony Ardison finished with 16 points, 5 boards
while Tim Austin added 7 rebounds, 3 assists. The team's
combination of size, speed, shooting and tenacity on defense
makes Below The Rim a Final Four favorite this season.
GM Warren Forbes led rookie team, Wastamanz in scoring
finishing with 27 points, 7 three-pointers and 2 boards. Dean
Lewis added 14 points, 3 rebounds while Wesley Forbes
finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds. KC Cyprian scored 9
points, 9 rebounds and led the team with 3 assists. It's too
early to see where the rookies will fall in the standings after
the Regular Season but one thing is certain - they couldn't stop
Below The Rim's newest acquisition, Mike Peters.
Concrete vs. Entourage
PLATINUM DIVISION
6 p.m.
After
taking several seasons off, Concrete returned to Superstar
Basketball as Entourage rookie sharp-shooter, Keith
Shamberger, welcomed Concrete back into the league. Keith,
named Player of the Week for his weekend-high, 46 points, led
Entourage to a 80-63 win.
Keith
was on fire from beyond the arch as Entourage used a 42-25 run
in the 2nd half to put the game away. Keith was 12-for-17
(70.6%) from beyond the arch and was 72.7% overall hitting
16-of-22 shot attempts. Martin Darrell finished with 10
points, 3 assists while GM Joey Cejudo added 4 points, 10
rebounds on 40% shooting. Anthony Fitzpatrick added 6
points while CJ Cooper finished with 9 points and 2
steals.
Concrete had 3 players score in double-figures as Brian
Carter led the way with 18 points, 5 rebounds on 57.1%
shooting. Aesh Dabbas, former MVP, made his return
finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds while GM Kimorlay
Williams added 17 points, 9 boards. Paul finished
with 9 points, 4 boards while Drew added 5 points, 2
assists.
Beast Tribe vs. Undisputed Division
PLATINUM DIVISION
7 p.m.
Undisputed Division made a huge statement against former
Champions, Beast Tribe, as Undisputed cruised to a 86-69
victory.
Beast
Tribe must not have gotten the memo that the season started on
October 6 with several guys calling out last minute including
Jason Harris, Prentice Harris and Michael Cox. The
team was led by CJ Johnson who finished with a
double-double, 26 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. CJ had the
#1 Play of the Week, blocking 2 shots and finishing the play
with an alley oop. Trone Jackson added 14 points while
Chris Elliott scored 12 points, 2 rebounds.
Undisputed coasted throughout the match-up as five players
scored in double-figures for Undisputed Division. Ryan Nitz
led all scorers with 16 points while Jarrell "Bama" Tate,
Finals MVP from last season, finished with 12 points, 3
rebounds. Shoney Brown added 16 points and led Undisputed
with 4 steals while Tone Biglow added 9 points, 3
assists. Undisputed Division was matched up with one of Inland
Empire's best teams in recent seasons and it was a shame that
several guys called out last-minute making this match-up a
1-sided affair.
Crusaders vs. Undisputed Division
PLATINUM DIVISION
8 p.m.
Crusaders showed up with just 4 players as the rookies got
dunked on, 94-70, in favor of Undisputed Division.
Five
players scored in double figures for Undisputed Division as
Brandon Towns scored 20 points, 7 rebounds. AJ Harris
finished with 14 while last season's Finals MVP, Jarrell Tate,
led Undisputed with 24 points on 80% shooting. Shoney Brown
had arguably the best dunk of the season dunking on Crusaders'
William Hill to set Instagram on a frenzy on Monday
morning. In a match-up that was Undisputed throughout, the only
debate was which play was going to be the Play of the Week.
"That facial by Shoney should be #1 but CJ had 2 blocks, the
first one was big time, then he finished the play with an oop,"
said a league editor. "You had players from Japan (Sean
Marshall) commenting and re-posting CJ's play."
James Dean finished with a team-high, 29 points, 4 rebounds
on 48% shooting. William Hill added 17 points, 2 steals
while John Garvey finished with 17. Crusaders learned
that you can't show up to Superstar Basketball unprepared and
teams are ready to put you on posters. Will Crusaders show up
with a full roster on Week 2?
Goons vs. Powerball
PLATINUM DIVISION
9 p.m.
Stats
sheet turned up missing as of Sunday. Whoever took it, turn it
in. Thank you.
Powerball defeated Goons.
Now
turn in that stats sheet.
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Game
Previews and Recaps are written by league analysts on Saturdays
and Mondays. If there is a typo on your name, please e-mail
commish@superstarbasketball.org. Thank You.
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