THE DREAM LEAGUE
Asian American / Open Basketball Leagues
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2007~08 Fall/Winter AAA Veterans (SF/Peninsula/Oakland) |
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Swishes & Bricks from 10/21 | |
| 10/31/2007 3:30PM | |
Wow...after last week's impassioned plea for much-needed improvement in roster sheets, I can honestly say that this week's batch weren't looking too shabby. Meaning, I could actually read them! So props to all of you who remembered and actually took the time to make 'em look so fresh and so clean. Of course, there were a few teams here and there who couldn't be bothered to provide first names. And even one (*cough* FADED) that didn't feel the need to fill in any names whatsoever. But the majority cleaned up their act so to speak. [EDITOR'S NOTE: According to the scoresheet, Faded *did* put their names on the scoresheet, just not the one Vince was looking at for stats. So Faded is OK on that.] Keep it up! It seems like I'm getting a lot of positive feedback for these articles. I'm really glad you enjoy them (spread the word!). Please shoot me an email if you have any ideas on what I can add to make my content even better. And just to prevent a deluge of emails from the more defensive-minded players out there, I have already considered adding a "Defense" column to celebrate all the ball-hawking and Mutombo-like blocks that I'm sure take place. It's just a matter of time constraints (isn't everything?). [EDITOR'S NOTE: Well, I was trying to resist commenting this time just in the interests of time (i.e., it's Halloween evening almost and I haven't even posted the matchups for 11/4 yet (I usually do this well before the brick wall that is Thursday for tipoffs), but I just have to comment here... Quite frankly, I don't think blocks will work because I've noticed hardly anyone keeps these stats properly. They are one of the harder stats to keep track of in terms of it getting lost in the rest of the shuffle. One time I remember dreamleague quasi-commish (i.e., of 10th degree black belt in scorekeeping) Yih-Wei Chien saying that there are only 1 or 2 blocks per game in rec leagues, when talking about how we could fix terribly scorekept games (we haven't found definitive answers yet). Well, I humbly disagree that there are only 1-2 blocks per game. I think there are more like 4-8 blocks per game because sometimes a guy goes up for a layup, some other guy sticks his hand in there and it goes out of bounds, ref says it's shooter's ball. Well that to me is a blocked shot. Let me know if I've been keeping those wrong. Then there's the ones where on a jumpshot, the defender may or may not have tipped the ball, but the shot is way off. Well, I give the benefit of the doubt and consider the defender got at least a fingernail on it -- unless it was clear that the defender missed entirely but still altered the shot. Yes, gotta have at least a fingernail. Well, that to me is a blocked shot. And in my humble opinion, it happens 4-8 times per game, no matter what level in dreamleague. And it gets recorded in the stats 3-7 times less than average, unfortunately! Hey, it's not easy either. You have to remember the guy on the other team who blocked it, while the focus is all on the offense and usually the offense recovers it. Or even if the defense gets the rebound, it happens so fast, you're already thinking rebound and often times forget the block -- unless of course it's one of those swats in which it would be a crime to forget. You heard it here first. The hardest stat to keep track of because it's like a "reverse" stat in all of the action is a blocked shot.] SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: Speaking of time constraints, I've been pulling overtime for the past few months working with a company that's launching a new PC MMO game called Hellgate: London on Halloween night. For you gaming buffs, this game was developed by the makers of the classic PC game Diablo and looks to be just as fun and addicting. Check it out and pre-order a copy now from our site. Anyways... I was talking to fellow University of San Francisco alum and fellow Koret Center hoopster Joven Baltazar (Basketballs of Fury, AAA-6) earlier today and he said reading these inspired him to step his game up so as to be featured one day. Well, I hope that it's stoking the same fires in the rest of you. Joven then joked that he was going to purposely go 4/22 just to make the "Bricklayers." I laughed at his comment, but a thought struck me. Would someone actually take such a drastic step just to get their name up in (electronic) ink? I dread the day that actually happens. That's just plain wrong on so many levels. Still, it could happen! Man...I can't wait till Tuesday night. What's on Tuesday night, you ask? Well, if you "Believe," you know that it's the Warriors season opener! I am attending on the behalf of Golden State of Mind bloggers and Dream League ballers Justin Kodama and Shailo Rao of Run F.O.B.. Expect a recap of the night's festivities in next week's installment. Vinsanity side note #739: Hope the "Italian Stallion" Belinelli gets some run this season as I'm hoping to cop his jersey in the clean Home whites. - Vinsanity P.S. One more thing for the Captains out there. I'm putting together an article that takes a closer look at some of the more interesting (and just flat out weird team names out there. Contact me at vince@dreamleague.org with the lowdown. THE A.I.'S Feelin' it. 1. Byron Portades (Bay Function, REC) -- Get this: dude had 26 points by halftime. He only had 6 afterwards but still finished with 32 points (4/7 3PT...13/20, 65% FG), 18 boards, 4 dimes, a steal, and a block. You sure you in the right division, bro? 2. Mike Reding (Wildcatz, NL) -- Reding was makin' it rain, hitting an amazing 8/11 (73% 3PT) from the arc en route to 30/5/2. 3. Jason Bendebel (SF Free Agents, REC) -- I was thisclose to putting Mr. Bendebel (All-Name team nominee? You tell me.) with the Bombers due to his ultra-accurate 7/9 (78% 3PT...6 made in 4th Q) shooting performance. But if dropping 29 isn't dominant, then I don't know what is. Final line: 29/3/1/1. 4. Derek Mune (Mid-Majors, AAA-V) -- The veteran took a sip from the Fountain of Life and turned back the clock with this performance: 27 points on 4 made 3's and 3 boards. 5. Jon McClain (SF Quakes, AAA-6) -- Is there anyone in the League better at finishing after absorbing the initial hit than "Die Hard"? He's built like a tank and has hops for days so it's not surprising to see lines like these from him: 26 points (12/21, 57% FG...17 in the 4th Q), 14 boards, 4 dimes, a steal, and 2 swats. 6. Ryan Mateo (Rayguns, AL-E) -- Mateo had 26 points, 5 boards, 3 dimes, a steal, and a block. I'm convinced he should make himself available to Shaq as a free throw coach: he put on a clinic at the line, hitting 14/15 (93% FT). 7. Karl Gusner (JSYTL, AL-E) -- It was just a matter of time until the sweet shooting guard made this list. Gusner had 19 points by halftime and ended up finishing with 26 points on an accurate 11/15 (73% FG) shooting, 5 boards, and 4 dimes. Also hit 4/7 threes, but what else is new? 8. David Torres (Team Dynasty, AL-P) -- Had the AI numbers (25/11/1/3) complete with the AI shooting percentage (9/21, 43% FG...3/8, 38% 3PT). 9. Jon McClain (SF Lions, AAA-E) -- 25/7/1/2 (9/14, 64% FG)...yaaaawn. Just another typical Sunday for McClain. 10. Chris Der (SloJams, AAA-P) -- Der posted big-time numbers: 25/6/1/1. Even more notable was his eye-opening FG percentage (11/12, 92% FG). 11. Sho Yamazaki (Triple Threat, AAA-E) -- The Lions just had no answer for Yamazaki down low. He powered his way to 24 points on 11/18 (61% FG) shooting. Also added 2 boards, a dime, and 2 steals. 12. Jerry Sims (The Yay, AL-E) -- 24/9/2/stl. Made 4/11 (36% 3PT) threes as well. 13. Leon Tsui (Gunners, AAA-P) -- 24/8/2/2/stl (11/17, 65% FG). RODMANESQUE'S Cleaning the glass like it's going out of style. 1. Johnny Corrao (Running Rebels, AL-E) -- Check his crazy line: 10 points, 16 caroms, 5 dishes, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. 2. Burton Ng (SJ Assassins, REC) -- 6/15/2/blk. 3. Sean Rivera (Technics, REC) -- Was Bay Function even able to get a board with Rivera and Tangi (below) going crazy on the glass? 18/15/1/1/1. His only blemish? An 8/30 (27% FG) day from the field. 4. Vaz San (Chopsticks, AAA-P) -- Came extrememly close to garnering the elusive 20-20 (has anyone even done this yet?): 18/15/2 stl/blk. 5. #2 (Sqad Up, REC) -- I'm beginning to think you guys are going anonymous to torment me. Anyways, kudos to you #2, whoever you are. I love your line of 12 points, 14 boards, 2 dimes, a steal, and 4 blocks. Did Yao Ming somehow sneak into the League(the REC division to boot!)? 6. Tim Villaruz (Boondocks, AAA-P) -- 18/14 7. Ryan Petro (McLovin, AAA-P) -- 17/14/1/1...can someone ID if this cat is Euro or not? It's eating at me. 8. Michael Tangi (Technics, REC) -- So solid: 18/13/1. 9. David Tsao (Gunners, AAA-P) -- 16/13/1/4/blk 10. Rob Cuenca (Bomb Squad, AL-E) -- Cuenca hits the glass with aplomb and it shows: 14/13/2/stl/2 blk. 11. Yih-Wei Chien (Gametime, NL) -- 5/13/1. 12. Mark Scates (Rayguns, AL-E) -- Scates didn't contribute much on O, but made his presence known on the defensive end: 2/12/1/2/3 blk 13. Vince Chung (McLovin, AAA-P) -- 16/12/3 stl. 14. John Chan (Genins, REC) -- 14/12. Guess this means his All-Star teammates Vu and Iwata must have only missed a combined 12 times. 15. Taraz Lee (2449 Squad, AL-E) -- Lee's line: 20/11/4/1/2 blk. Shot a decidedly un-bigmanlike 9/10 from the line as well. THE CHEFS Serving up tasty dishes on the regular. 1. Taraz Lee (Wildcatz, NL) -- Somewhat of a surprise entry on this list as he's known more for his boardwork: 9/5/10. 2. Paul Hu (Aball, AAA-P) -- Only scored a single point but grabbed 3 boards, had 2 swipes, and had 9 assists. 3. Ryan Susanto (Gametime, NL) -- 5/4/7. 4. Ross Hiroshima (Wildcatz, NL) -- Didn't score a single point (which is pretty odd for a player of his caliber) but had 7 boards and 7 dimes. 5. Vince Morales (SF Quakes, AAA-6) -- Hmm...who is this Morales guy? Looks like he not only shares my name but also my love for the sweet pass. 6 points, 3 boards, 6 dimes, a steal, and a block for the Quakes' Captain and Boris Diaw clone. 6. James Kan (Triple Threat, AAA-E) -- If I'm not mistaken, Kan is easily the biggest cat on this team yet they have him running the point. Unorthodox, but I'm not gonna argue with the results: 5/11/6/1. 7. Ryan Parrilla (SloJams, AAA-P) -- 13/4/5/stl. Damn...Parrilla made the list for the 2nd consecutive week. Is this a step in a new direction for the once-brazen gunner? 8. Hanh Tien (Chopsticks, AAA-P) -- Tien was ice cold from the field (0/8), but grabbed a board and dished out 5 dimes. JKIDD-STERS Geez...this must be a record for most all-arounders in a weekend. Is my column inspiring peeps to dust off their tapes of vintage Kidd and pre-injury Grant Hill footage? If so, let it be known that Vinsanity started a Dream League renaissance! (or not...) 1. Sunny Margate (Prodigies, NL) -- 22 points, 13 boards, 6 dimes, a steal, and 3 blocks. Just a typical day at the office for the versatile swingman. His 7/20 (35% FG) shooting: not so typical. 2. Justin Delacruz (Spartans, REC) -- For one game, Scottie Pippen's spirit circa '95-'96 entered Mr. Delacruz's body: 21 points, 10 boards, 7 dimes, 5 steals, and a block. 3. Ryan Dang (Return of the Drunken Masters, AAA-V) -- Dang makes the list again this week with this sublime line: 16/7/6/4/blk. Also shot 4/10 (40% 3PT) from deep. Can he make it a third time in a row? Stay tuned. 4. Lou N. (TL Bombers, AAA-P) -- 15/6/6/5 stl...solid numbers across the board. 5. Soo Park (Blackcatz, REC) -- 16/8/3/5. Also hit on 3/5 treys. "Soo"-per! 6. Nic Vu (Genins, REC) -- Vu's mere presence in the REC division is causing cracks in the space-time continuum: 9/11/7/2 stl... 7. Shin Iwata (Genins, REC) -- ...ditto Mr. Iwata: 19/5/7/3 (9/11, 82% FG). 8. John Hsu (John Hsu, REC) -- OK...dude officially has the most unoriginal team name in the L. Nice stats though: 19/6/6/3 (7/11, 64% FG). 9. James Chen (John Hsu, REC) -- Whoa, another teammate duo lands here: 12/6/3/5/3. 10. Scott Park (Smokey, AAA-6) -- Park's hustle finally lands him a superlative. 10 points, 8 boards, and a whopping 6 swipes. 11. Anthony Hernandez (Bomb Squad, AL-E) -- 16/11/1/1 and an insane 5 swats. 12. Jerry Cabatic (Frosh Tryouts, AAA-P) -- Scored 14, grabbed 6 boards, dished out 6, and had a steal. Also knocked down 4/7 threes. 13. Johnny Harrington (Done Deal, AAA-E) -- Warriors PF and Ninja Turtle lookalike Al Harrington's little bro made the list again this week. I'm kidding about the relation, but Harrington had a dope line: 16/6/5/1. 14. RJ Amurao (Underdogs, AL-P) -- Barely missed this list last time around (with almost identical numbers): 16/6/4/stl. 15. Kenny Chao (Gunners, AAA-P) -- 5/7/9/stl. 16. Brent Hughes (McLovin, AAA-P) -- 5/5/6 but unsightly shooting(2/12, 17% FG). BOMBERS I'm in love with a jumper... 1. Khuong Luu (Das Boot, AAA-V) -- What'd I tell ya last week? Told you he was legit: 20 points on 6/13 (46% 3PT) from downtown, 3 boards, 3 dimes, and 4 steals. Luu is officially back. 2. Rome Olimpiada (Bomb Squad, AL-E) -- Had 24/8/2/2. Hit 6 threes out of a whopping 21 attempts, leading to an ugly (29% 3PT) percentage. 3. William Saechao (Chopsticks, AAA-P) -- Randon Vinsanity Pondering #89: How many Saechaos are there in the League? William of the growing Saechao contingent scored 19 off 5/8 (63% 3PT) from three. 4. Sagar Savant (Run FOB, REC) -- The "Savant" proved his brilliance from the arc: 5/8 (63% 3PT) en route to 17/2/stl. 5. Rob Shintaku (Frisco Super Chronic, AL-P) -- Doesn't it seem like "Big Shot Rob" makes this list on a weekly basis? 17 and 3 on 5/11 (45%) from long range. 6. Boun Khamnouane (Elephants, AAA-P) -- Boun went "boom," notching 20 points on 5 made threes (5/12, 42% 3PT). 7. Brad Nakano (Wildcards, AL-E) -- Sunk 5/7 (71% 3PT) en route to 16 points. Also added 3 boards. 8. Adrian Garcia (Spartans, REC) -- And to think, Garcia made the "Bricklayers" list 2 weeks ago: 23/6/2/1/blk (4/7, 57% 3PT). I'd like to think his inclusion inspired him to work on his J. 9. Adam Chang (Motorboat, REC) -- Connected on 4/8 (50% 3PT) from three, grabbed 3 boards, and had a steal. 10. Daryl Rusgal (ZerOne, AAA-P) -- Rusgal is officially back down to Earth after his 40-pt. masterpiece a few weeks ago. He can still fill the statsheet though: 18 pts. (4 made threes), 8 boards, 3 dimes, 3 steals, and a block. 11. Raj Edwards (L'Unis, REC) -- Sunk 4 threes en route to 16/9/2. 12. Joel Sales, Sr. (Hotshots, NL) -- 16/3/stl (4/6, 67% 3PT). 13. Mike Reding (Rayguns, AL-E) -- The bombin' big hit 4/10 (40% 3PT) of his threes en route to 20 and 7. BRICKLAYERS "The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not." - Charles Barkley 1. Rady Khean (Blackcatz, REC) -- I like the current trend of bricklayers contributing in other areas. Exhibit A: Mr. Khean here. He went 0/9 but grabbed 10 boards and had 2 steals. Admirable. 2. RJ Flores (MaSarap, AAA-P) -- I can already see the Dream League stat-entry guru wincing when he has to enter his FG%: 4 points on 1/9 (11% FG) shooting and 5 boards. 3. Mualimu Collins (WWWD, REC) -- Chalk up another player to the All-Name team. That would be the only solace for Collins who had 2 points, 4 boards, a steal, and a block but went a measly 1 for 9 (11% FG) from the field. 4. Rod Campbell (Team Dynasty, AL-P) -- Strange to see this all-star caliber player here. Anyways, it would be an understatement to say he had a terrible shooting day. Had 13/12/3 but went 3/23 (13% FG). 5. Dean Takemoto (Phenomenal Swag, AAA-P) -- I don't know if a "swag" can even exist after this kind of performance: put up 4/8/2/2 but made only 2/14 (14% FG). 6. Charles Sachkar (ZerOne, AAA-P) -- Stunk up the place with a 2/12 (17% FG) "performance" but made up in other areas. Final line: 6/11/2/3 stl. 7. Alfred Kwong (Raptors, AAA-P) -- Kwong was straight jackin' up (ill-advised?) shots...0/7 from three and 2/12 (17% FG) overall. 8. Dante Henderson (MaSarap, AAA-P) -- 3/14 (21% FG)...7/5/stl. Was that early season success just a fluke? Or was this day just an aberration? BANANAS AWARD MaSarap (AAA-P) PG Jon Guerra had the game of his life last Sunday. Up until the 4th quarter, Guerra had only scored 2 points. Then something clicked. He was simply unconscious in the 4th, missing only one shot while hitting on 6/6 from three and going 3/4 from the line. His final numbers? 23 points, 3 boards, 2 dimes, and a steal. Did anyone witness this divine intervention? FUN STAT OF THE WEEKEND Maybe Ballin' (AAA-E) might want to consider renaming their team "Bombin'" next season. Their usual three-point threat, Nic Vu wreaked his usual havoc from the arc posting 18/3/2/3 (6/12, 50% 3PT). PG and Captain Shin Iwata joined in the action, pouring in 19/4/1/2 on 5/6 (83% 3PT) threes. The surprise here was forward Cam Tran's play: 16 points on 8/16 (50% 3PT) from three, 4 boards, 4 dimes, and a steal. The team as a whole made an astounding 19 out of 35 threes (54%). Just unreal... On the opposite side of the spectrum, teammates Jason Yee and Jeremy Nakamoto of WSBI (AAA-P) shot a combined 3/22 (14% FG) in their game vs. Captain Noel Gonzales' veteran-heavy Bomb Squad. |