Winter 2018: B Draft League Champs: EuroTrip

SON Found a Father and His Name is Samuel Pollock
EuroTrip 73 Say No More SON ! 57

The first game of the night was a duel to the death between the three-seed EuroTrip and the six-seed Say No More SON! These star-studded teams would be forced to play without any subs at all, as Fasano and Caparros were absentees on EuroTrip while SON! was missing Drigo and Cohen.

The game kicked off with a bang. Actually, many bangs, as the scoring was high and mighty early on. SON! was relying heavily on the three-pointer, throwing up eighteen of them in the first. Gans was the only reason they were shooting effectively out there, as he hit three deep balls of his own. And when they weren’t shooting threes, they were trusting Manny to do his thing. And he did his thing whenever he could, feasting on Mirza a few times in the first for some tough buckets that he made look easy.

But they couldn’t pull away from the balanced assault of the EuroTrip. Pollock was leading the battle with ruthless efficiency, finding his teammates for open jumpers and easy layups all over the place. He was also dominating the boards while doing this, grabbing down 10 of them in the first alone. I also have written here that “Fed looks like he’s in the best shape of his career,” which I don’t remember writing. I call it FAKE NEWS! Federici looked more like a discarded hunk of moldy pecorino romano cheese.

One funny moment towards the end of the first half was Gans picking up his second and third fouls back-to-back. KD offered the last one up to either Gans or Manny, who immediately pointed at Gans and acted all innocent. A quick moment of introspection might have revealed that Manny had no fouls at that point, but oh well! Too late! Gans in foul trouble!

We entered halftime with Eurotrip hanging on to a tight edge of 36-35, but SON! was hitting their shots and hanging with the higher seed. Of course, high seeds generally don’t lose to lower ones, right?! (Shit…)

The second half turned out to be a very special episode of the Sam Pollock and Friends FunTime Extravaganza. He was getting to the rim for baskets and putting the ball in whoevers hands were going to score. That was mainly Cundall, who went nuts in the second half. It seemed like whenever Pollock passed Cundall the ball, it was a guarantee that Ian was going to score. He put up 15 in the second, assited by Pollock at least five times. And all of a sudden, we had an eleven point advantage for the EuroTrippers.

SON! refused to go down easy, though. Nate got a tough And-1 to fall and Gans followed that up with one of his own a minute later to get the lead back into single digits. Pollock found Mirza for a bucket, but then Nate got yet another and-1 on a crazy looking layup like he has been known to do. After a stop on defense, SON! had a fast break and a chance to get back into it when Federici stepped in front of the Manny Freight Engine and took a charge! In a playoff game! In B-Draft! That doesn’t happen!

But it did, and that was really a backbreaker for the SON! squad. Fed hit a layup and then Pollock grabbed assist number ten on a pass to Cundall for a three. The game was called 73-57 in favor of EuroTrip. Now, they get to cruise on into the second round while Nate and his boys now have nothing more to say. Son.

Grades

EuroTrip

Cundall – A – Spectacular shooting night for Ian. Someone has to stop him from drafting Pollock again next season.

Pollock – A+ - Triple double in dominant fashion while shooting efficiently and playing tough defense all night long. Play it again, Sam!

Zukic – C+ - Finished with a double-double and Manny is a tough opponent, but 2018 Mirza Zukic is a lot better than a 10 and 10 line.

Federici – B+ – Played great defense and did a lot of small stuff. Just don’t ever write on my stat sheet again.

Say No More SON!

Nate – C – Tough shooting night. And his point guard opponent got a triple double. Not a good combo in a playoff performance.

Manny – C –Ended up with a decent line, but they needed Manny to take over this one. He just couldn’t do it tonight.

Gans – B+ - Did a little bit of everything and kept them close in the first half. The only reason the SON! three-point numbers look kind of okay.

O’Shea – C+ - Didn’t have many opportunities, but he found his ways to contribute, pulling down some tough boards and finding Gans on a nice dime.