FALL 2021: CoEd 5v5 League Champs: We Be Ballin’

Commentary by CASEY...

Ballin' 59  Sofa King Good 54

Ballin Holds On in Second Half For 59-54 Win Over Sofa King Good

The #CoEd5v5 season kicked off with a matchup between Ballin' and Sofa King Good. Rocky Chiu and Huck Vaughan established themselves early with strong takes to the basket for Ballin'. Eleanor Dinuzzo couldn't miss either, and after knocking down a few shots was able to get the defense to bite on shot fakes which resulted in some excellent floaters and finishes around the rim. With 10:28 remaining and the score 21-10 in favor of Ballin', Huck did his best Bill Russell impression by coming over in help defense to pick up a block and somehow kept the ball in bounds - only to race all the way down the court and finish at the rim for a right hand finger roll. Sofa King Good found themselves down 35-26 at halftime. Rocky Chiu came out in the second half and immediately swished a three pointer on consecutive possessions. Just two minutes later, Emerson Gagnon made two straight three pointers of his own for Sofa King Good. Ballin’ was forced to call a timeout with 11:24 remaining after another rip move and righty finish by Eleanor Dinuzzo knotted the game at 47-47. Both teams stepped up the defensive intensity and points became a premium from this point forward. Sofa King Good called their final timeout down 53-52 with 4:28 remaining in order to devise a plan to steal this game from Ballin’. Huck was just too much for them to handle, however, as he grabbed seemingly every rebound that came remotely close to him and was able to convert easy lay ups on second and third chances. Ballin’ ends up taking this one 59-55 over Sofa King Good.

WeKnowDis 67  VOR 45

WeKnoDis Cruises to 67-45 Victory Over VOR

The first week of #CoEd5v5 closed out with a match up between VOR and WeKnowDis. WeKnowDis came out strong in this one, establishing an early lead and really never looked back. Christiana Bakolas was able to control the pace of play and assisted her teammates on seemingly every other basket. Carlene Kluge and Matt Grunoli were able to make cuts to the basket and get themselves open and Christiana was able to put the ball exactly where it needed to be for easy scores. Jaime Sanchez had a fantastic offensive performance for VOR, and after hitting a few outside shots was able to pump fake defenders off the ground and explode to the basket for mid-range jumpers/floaters. After a Courtney Finn 3-pointer, VOR called time out with 11:23 left in the half down 23-11. Matt Grunoli (21 rebounds) was dominant on the boards and was able to haul in any rebound within his vicinity. This one would go into halftime with WeKnowDis up 44-21. Jaime started off the second half with back to back three-pointers to make it 44-27. Kevin Liao stepped up the intensity on defense and on the boards securing seven rebounds and four steals in the second half alone. Kelsey Roberson connected on one of her two 3-pointers with 7:48 remaining which caused VOR to call their final time out down 65-36. Nicole Elbeery and Eric Chu were able to drain three pointers for VOR but it was too little too late, WeKnowDis cruises to victory in this one 67-45.

Soup-A-Stars 71  We Be Ballin' 83

We Be Ballin Comes Back For 83-71 Victory Over Soup-a-Stars

The second match up of the night featured the Soup-a-Stars and We Be Ballin'. Jordan DeRosby was too much for We Be Ballin to handle as he was able to find seems in the defense off of the dribble and finish at the rim with both hands. Just seven minutes into the contest, Jordan hit yet another three pointer to make the game 15-3 Soup-a-Stars. The lead would eventually increase to 17 with 12:39 remaining, but it was at this point something clicked for We Be Ballin’. A flurry of three pointers from Caroline Beneville, Jane Thompson, and Joe Annino combined with an increase in defensive intensity were the catalysts for them being able to tie this game up at 32-32. The score ended up 45-42 at halftime in favor of We Be Ballin’. Tyler Norton started off the second half with three straight three-pointers to extend We Be Ballin’s lead. Chrissy Eckman and Kevin Levitsky were able to find open shots for the Soup-a-Stars and keep them in the game. Tyler Norton then jumped a passing lane for a steal and proceeded to throw a perfect baseball pass to Caroline Beneville for an easy lay up with 12:11 remaining to make the game 68-58. Then Liam Lenhart swished two of his three 3-pointers minutes apart and it seemed as though the Soup-a-Stars might be able to reclaim the lead. They called time out with 7:37 remaining and the score 74-63 to devise a plan to make that final push. Ashley Lutz was able to make back door cuts and found folds in the defense and her teammates were able to find her or easy scores. We be Ballin' eventually wins this one 83-71 over the Soup-a-Stars.