Championship Recap

Howse Corp 68
Origins Unknown 60
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Back Where They Belong

Reading, MA - With all six session originals in blue uniforms for the quarter finals last night, Origins Unknown took down a feisty, but depleted, Chili's team - 69-54 -to get back to the Championship game, where they'll take on Howse Corp.

OU used a full-team effort to get out of the gate quickly, and never look back. Chili's was missing their big man-in-the-middle, and OU's own mountain of love, Chris "Big" Johnson used that to his advantage. Guarded by a meaty, but shorter, Chili's defender, Johnson gained excellent position and showed his patience by finding his way to the basket on multiple trips.

James "Stretch" Hogan IV and Cap'n Mike also started out the game by taking advantage of their own match-ups, and getting by their defenders to score near the hoop. After the quick start however, Cap'n Mike was thrown off his normal game by two early (and questionable) fouls. Whether the calls were correct or not, Cap'n Mike clearly lost focus, and his OU teammates stepped up to cover his poor play.

Smartly subbing Cap'n Mike out for a short spell at the end of the half, Big Johnson again made an impact in non big-man fashion. A steal at half court, followed by a Shaq-esque coast to coast run, started the fun. Then as the first half wound down, Johnson found an open Dr. J Robinson for a corner jump shot, which he calmly drained.

OU continued to use the "No I in Team" philosophy in the second half, and built on their double digit lead. Chili's stepped up the pressure on the ball, but when OU slowed it down and set up Johnson, they were nearly unstoppable. With Cap'n Mike still sputtering and taking out his frustrations on poor innocent bystanders, OU used some excellent defense, led by Patel's multiple blocks, to shut down most attempts of the Chili's runs. Danger Dan Fisher also awoke from a slow start, to score two HUGE buckets when Chili's had taken the lead down to nine.

OU was led by Johnson, who ended the game an encouraging 5 for 6 from the charity stripe. Cap'n Mike sank 2 of 2 from the line in the game, increasing his season total to 9 for 10.

OU battles one of the original Reading YMCA nemesis', Howse Corp, in the finals. Howse has been a strong team all session long, with excellent guard play and young athleticism. Gametime is 7:00 pm, according to the league site.

Free Agents Free For Golf Now

Reading, MA - If the Free Agents were actually Free Agents next season, none of them would be picked up by the remaining Reading YMCA League teams after this playoff performance against Origins Unknown. In the first round of the summer league playoffs, OU reached the century mark for the second consecutive game against the FAs, putting on an offensive clinic in a 100-60 win.

The Free Agents never stood much of a chance in this one, even with the addition of a big man to their roster. OU had their way on offense, with the starting crew of Shu-ter Patel, James "Stretch" Hogan IV, Chris "Big" Johnson and Cap'n Mike building an immediate 10 point lead within the first five minutes.

It was virtually a basketball camp for the FA guys to learn how to play. Stretch Hogan ran the lay-up station... Big Johnson ran the post-up station... Shu-ter ran the mid-range station... and Cap'n Mike ran the ball-handling and shooting station.

When Craig "Kid Rainmaker" Andrews checked into the game, the situation only worsened for the FA bunch as Craig could have played left handed and been the best player on their team.

On defense, OU didn't have to do much to control the game - other then rebound the missed shots. The FA team was simply overmatched from the outset. As the half came to a close, OU had already built a 25-point lead and scored 50 points on the hapless FA team.

The second half wasn't much to write about either. OU, playing half-ass at this point, built the lead even higher, as the FA's barked out encouragement to "cut the lead to 30". It didn't happen though, and the highlight of this stink-bomb of a game turned out to be a missed 3/4 court shot by Cap'n Mike at the end of the first half that bounced off the rim. Yep, a missed shot was the highlight.

While Cap'n Mike led OU with 31, ANY of the OU bunch could have scored 40-50 if they wanted to.

The good news is that the win sends OU to the quarter finals next week to battle old nemesis Chili's. Cap'n Mike, once again, did not make a trip to the foul line. He remains 7-8 on the season.

Shu-ter, OU, Put on Exhibition

Reading, MA - Origins Unknown warmed up for the upcoming summer playoffs by spanking The Free Agents 100-69 at the YMCA last night. The win bolstered OU's record to 6-2 on the session, and secured them the third seed in playoffs, where they will square off against........ The Free Agents (Hopefully, with some of the better players).

This game was over from the moment Shu-ter Patel walked in the gym and laced up the Chuck Taylors. The FA's showed up with only four players, none of whom could compete with their counterpart on OU. With advantages at every position, OU quickly jumped on their opponents and built an impenetrable lead within five minutes.

Packed in a ridiculously poor 2-2 zone, the FA's had more holes than a golf course. OU exploited these holes by finding gaps and then cutting or finding Shu-ter for open jumpers. Chris "Big" Johnson, James "Stretch" Hogan IV, and Cap'n Mike also did their part by making most of their first half shots, and sharing the ball with regularity.

The second half was more of the same. The FA's changed the zone slightly and started trying to put pressure on the ball, but OU easily went around the defense and was pouring in open shots. After a particularly bad stretch, tallgangly Mike from the FA's said, "We need to switch back to a 2-2, their shooting 100% on us".

OU let off the gas, but still managed to reach the century mark with a couple minutes left in the game. Shu-ter Patel led the OU quadrumverate with 34. Both Hogan and Johnson scored 24, and Cap'n Mike was low man with 16.

OU only managed to get to the line on one occasion, and Cap'n Mike again didn't make an appearance. He remains 7-8 on the year.