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Playoff Preview

05/28/2018, 7:15pm EDT
By Rob Gray

Four deserving teams enter, but only one will come out on top. Who will it be?

            The time is finally here, playoff basketball!  This one came down to the wire, with the last playoffs slot as well as seeding being decided on the final night of the season.  Grove Street solidified their number 1 seed with a big win, Vipers held serve with the same, and Probably Hungover was able to squeak their way into the playoffs.  Tuesday night we will be treated with the 2 seed Vipers taking on the 3 seed Hot Boys at 8pm followed by the 1 seed Grove Street battling it out with the 4 seed Probably Hungover at 9pm.

            Vipers finished the season with an impressive 6-2 record, but lost the tiebreaker for the 1 seed with Grove Street.  They come in on a 4 game winstreak and will take on the team that handed them one of those two losses in Hot Boys.  That was their only matchup of the seasons, a 69-62 thriller.  Hot Boys are coming off of a loss but did win 4 of their last 5 games.  This one is certainly not short on star power.  Vipers’ Will Kales finished the season as the league leader in scoring, rebounds, and assists, is a top 3 3-point shooter, and tied for 4th in steals.  Teammates Gabe Robinson was the second leading rebounder and Jean Adam was also tied for 4th in steals.  Hot Boys, meanwhile, is led by Ronald Prophete, the league leader in blocks by a wide margin, the 3rd leading rebounder, and the 4th leading scorer.  Teammate Aaron Gadsden finished the season as the leading 3-point shooter, second in assists, and tied for 4th in steals.

            Grove Street won the head to head tiebreaker to earn the 1 seed, also with a 6-2 record.  They are riding a 4 game winstreak and won 6 of the last 7 games after starting the season with a loss.  They also boast the best point differential of +73.  Probably Hungover had a more tumultuous season, finishing 4-4 and losing their last 2 games.  They snuck into the playoffs despite a negative point differential, but certainly should not be overlooked.  Two of those losses came against Grove Street this season, but the last one was decided in the closing minutes by just a 4 point margin.  This one may be more closely contested than one may expect.  Oliver Kaljuvee of Probably Hungover and Darien Rodriguez of Grove Street both tied for second in the league in scoring.  Rodriguez was 2nd in 3-pointer shooting while Kaljuvee finished 5th.  Rodriguez also tied with Probably Hungover’s Nick Tytka for 3rd in assists.

            All four of our playoff teams have put together excellent team and individual performances this season.  This should culminate in one heck of a playoffs.  We look forward to some hard fought matchups and great performances.  It’s time for the stars to shine and teams to put forth a complete effort, as there are certainly no pushovers here.  While all are deserving of their place in the playoffs, only one can be crowned as the champs and we look forward to seeing who will come out on top.  Good luck!

Tag(s): Home  Spring League  Hob/JC Division  Bandits  Chubb  Probably Hungover  Grove Street  Hot Boys  Alligators  Vipers