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.