02/27 - Ryboy's Friday Blog: Week 2

Thursday 20th of November 2008

RYBOY’S FRIDAY BLOG

After the wild start, the CEBC friendship league has gained momentum. There was an increase in league wide attendance versus last week. The official count has come in and we counted 3 or 4. Team chemistry has increased for some and decreased for some. Teams are starting to find their respective “main guy” and not so “main guy.”

1. Winner: Black 51 Loser: Gray 39

The black team has been a pleasant surprise in the early season. They epitomize the small- in- stature team that plays well together and their main players clearly make everyone else better. Their team dynamics has made them tough to beat. Everyone does what they are comfortable with doing, not sacrificing the greater good of the team to “try something new” or “play out of their element.” Their two best players Erik Chan and Anthony Pineda continue to fill their niche and it has made the rest of the team elevate their game. Example, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bill Wennington, and Jud Buechler. How does a hoboesque volleyball player begin to look like “Tom Chambers” in the twighlight of his career? Confidence is infused by his teammates. How does a 7 foot stiff, who on any other team, would probably be out of the league to join the circus or rescue cats out of oak trees, thrive and become an integral part of the team? Confidence…knowing his niche. Bill “the beast” Wennington can hit a wide open 10 footer on the baseline which draws out NBA centers from the key and opens up lanes for MJ and Pip. Of course, there are no shoe endorsements or soft drink commercials, but you don’t become a victim of the infamous Michael Jordan tongue lashing. In NBA games or NCAA games, kudos goes to the coach. In a Cornerstone friendship league, kudos goes to Robert Tam for picking the teams.

The gray team played valiantly without their captain. There was to be no Willis Reed return for Coleman Chung, however, Neil Wong tried to fill the void. Neil Wong was more alone than Tom Hanks in Cast Away (17 pts, 14 reb), he simply had no help. The lead was insurmountable due to Erik Chan (9/11 fts) and Anthony Pineda (11 pts, 14 rebs), who kept it out of reach by hitting big free throws at the end.

2. Winner: Red 49 Loser: White Team 40

It was a convincing win for the red team thanks to Greg Wong’s offensive rebounding. Reminded me of a time in when I was in high school. I witnessed a nerdy Asian kid (86% chance of the kid being Chinese due to Lowell demographics) buy a Snickers from the 1st floor vending machines, only to get delicious chocolate smorgasbord of a delight snatched from his pitiful hands by a waiting senior. Whom, by the way, was polite enough to say “thanks.” My point is: Greg Wong is a beast. He is bigger, faster, and more beastly than anyone in the league. He takes candy from babies, he will bite your ear off, and will eat your children. In addition, Jeff Chan, played another solid game by contributing (10 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast). Between these two hungry hustling forwards, they should be in any game and be a favorite in the finals. Yes, an early prediction.

The white team has the personnel to be a contender but their chemistry is off. Their coach Octavio Jimenez (Jimenez pronounced like Himenez), has a challenging task of integrating DG (Darryl Greene) and TC (Hubert Lim) more into the offense. And as you know, good offense usually sparks your defense.

NOTES: Cornerstone shoots 8/27 (29.63%) which is an improvement from last week’s 9/39 (23.07%). This pushes their percentage up to 26.98% overall.

3. Winner: Green 41 Loser: Blue 25

In my previous blog entry, I stated that the green team was going to start winning games because of their height. According to our overpaid statisticians, the green team out rebounded the other team 39 to 25, a discrepancy. JC Chasez was an absolute terror and collected 15 rebounds in the win. Alan Lin and Norm Siu went head to head, but the clash resulted in a stale mate. The green team got a huge lift from Edmund Liu and Chris Wong who both scored on a variety of moves down the stretch. The green team is looking a lot like the steel curtain. Their defense has been superb. Astonishingly, they held the blue team to 7/40 (17.5 %) on field goals.

NOTES: Alan Lin left the game temporarily after attempting to take a charge…he would stay in the game…Sherman Lee sprained his ankle and is listed as day-to-day.

In the end…as Rasheed would say, “both teams played hard…” It was a good day of basketball and for thinking...after the game I wondered if this defensive culture has swept our league…after devotions I wondered why the best seller of all time (Bible) stands tall after all attempts to disprove it…wondered why twelve ordinary men would jeopardize their own well being, take criticism, risk their lives to follow a man named Jesus…