Origins Unknown... Champions KNOWN

Reading, MA - Origins Unknown does it again!

OU once again sits atop the Burbank YMCA Men's League, after winning a classic championship game against Evans last night in Reading, 79-75.

Evans and OU have faced off multiple times in the past year, but none of the games ever featured both teams with their full squads intact. Evans brought a SOLID starting line-up into the game with two very good guards (Zermani and Sartori) and a 6'6" center. Match-ups were key from the start, as Evans decided to put the 6'6" guy on Cap'n Mike and one of the stronger guards on James "Stretch" Hogan IV. Ultimately, these match-ups did force the action to other players on the court, and this is where Shu Patel took control of the game. "We really wanted to stop you and Stretch" said Zermani after the game, "We just didn't know that he (Patel) was going to kill us like that." Patel used a lethal inside/outside comnination of shots to score, while hitting almost all of his 10 free throw attempts. In the crowd, Patel's son, young Soren Patel was equally impressed. "Dad played great," said Soren, "I was so sure that OU was going to win, that I fell asleep in the first half!"

The first half was a back and forth affair, with OU jumping out to a small lead after the first five minutes. Greg Robinson, Patel, Hogan and Cap'n Mike all shared the offensive workload, while Pete Martin relentlessly hit the offensive glass. On multiple occasions, Martin was able to gain position and tap out missed shots or coral rebounds leading to second chance points, impressing his wife-to-be Deana in the crowd. Evans focused on pounding the ball down to the center, who with a 6 inch height advantage, had only moderate success against the stellar defense of Robinson. Zermani and Sartori also hit some timely shots, but their first sub off the bench, Chang, provided the biggest spark making some circus lay ups and open jumpers. Evans caught OU at the six-minute mark, and the teams went to halftime with Evans holding a two-point lead.

At halftime, the OU squad tossed around ideas on how to play the second frame, and one of the common suggestions was to slow down and find the 'right' shot. The 'right' shot was thought to be Patel, Martin or Robinson down low, an open Cap'n Mike three, or an isolated Hogan vs. whoever.

Evans surged to a five-point lead early in the second half, but the game stayed close and when Zermani subbed out of the game for a rest, OU capitalized. Cap'n Mike knocked down two threes... Patel posted up and banked in shots on back-to-back trips, and just like that OU had the lead. From there, OU maintained and then grew the lead through stellar defense, crashing the offensive glass, and a little thing I like to call "THE MVP".

"THE MVP" would be Shu Patel, who scored a game-high 30 points for OU. "I'll tell you right now," said Head Referee Dennis Visconti at the 3-minute mark with Patel at the line, "He's your MVP." Patel knocked down the free-throws, and OU had built a nine-point lead with only a few minutes left.

Evans wasn't quite done, though. Their center decided to step outside and promptly knocked down multiple three-pointers from the top of the key and sideline. OU maintained their poise with the defensive pressure increased, and hit free-throws as Robinson, Cap'n Mike and Patel all hit their charity-stripers.

A scoring gaffe nearly brought the score to 77-75 with only seconds left, but after totalling the book, scorekeeper and DJ extraordinaire, DJ Fish, correctly changed the score to 77-72. A couple more OU free throws....another three pointer by Evans... a quirky OU turnover... a miss at the buzzer by Evans... and the championship run was complete.

Winning the championship not only gave OU the coveted YMCA "League Champions" t-shirts, but also free beer at Chili's courtesy of the losing team. Hooray Beer! Evans actually voiced some surprise following the loss, with several of the teammates saying they were sure they would win. Little did they know that OU had saved their best for last.

The victory gives OU their third championship in five years, and ignited a firestorm of post-game gossip at Chili's about whether this team is a YMCA league dynasty. You are a witness.