THE DREAM LEAGUE
Asian American / Open Basketball Leagues
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2007~08 Fall/Winter AL~Elite (SF/Redwood City/Oakland) |
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Swishes & Bricks from 11/4 | |
| 11/13/2007 5:00PM | |
As always, contact me at vince@dreamleague.org with any discrepancies you might find. Not to be mean or anything, but please don't email me asking to look up stats for you (i.e. "How many assists did I have on so-and-so date, how many points, etc."). Stat compilation is not my job and I usually don't have the time to pore through past stats to tally 'em up for you (even though I get my "Stat-Nerd" on when I carry around a 5-lb., 3-inch thick binder with stats arranged by gym and date). The only thing I can say is trust in the Commish and his crew of stat compiling elves to get the stats up on the site faster (hint hint). [EDITOR'S NOTE: We're doing the best we can. Seriously, you have no idea unless you yourself go try and get 40 games week after week done. Please, no hints. We get it. We want the stats as badly as you.] THE A.I.'S 1. Quentin Wu (Syuhn Fung, AL-P) -- My oh my...correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Wu is the Tony Parker look (and play)-alike of the Dream League, right down to the quick darting drives finished with a one-handed floater. Trust me, anyone who's seen him ball can attest to this. Check his numbers: Tony...I mean Wu notched 19 by the half. He would end up scoring 15 in the final two quarters and ended up with an astounding 34 points on 15/28 (54% FG). The meager two boards and assist he added were just afterthoughts compared to the offensive wizardry he put on. 2. ? Kim (SJ Barons, AAA-P) -- Was just about to skip dude since his complete name wasn't listed, but it would be a disservice to his brilliant performance. Kim dropped 18 by the half, had 16 afterwards and finished with 34/9/2/4 stl. Was anyone on the Boondocks bothering to guard him? The fact that he went 5/5 from 3 and 14/22 (64% FG) overall, I'd have to say NO. 3. Cam Tran (Ballin', AAA-E) -- Since when did Tran becoming a three-point assassin? It almost seems as if he reinvented himself in a season's time. Dude knocked down 6/13 3PT (9/14 FG overall) en route to 26/5/ast in a Ballin' win over their division-rival SF Lions. 4. Sean Caiola (Money Tree, NL) -- Almost made it to the Bombers list since he hit 4/5 of his treys en route to 26 points. 5. Jay Pattugalan (Poorcats, AAA-V) -- Pattugalan lit up the Return of the Drunken Masters to the tune of 25 points, primarily with his long range sniping (7/13, 54% 3PT). [EDITOR'S NOTE: One thing that helped was that the DrunkenMasters only had 4 guys.] 6. James Aragon (Frosh Tryouts, AAA-P) -- Aragon put up 24 points, 9 boards, 3 dimes, and a steal. Also shot 55% from the field (11/20). 7. Mike Reding (Wildcatz, NL) -- Reding is starting to make his mark felt in this column: 24 points, 3 boards, a dime, and a steal. Peep the ultra-accurate shooting: 4/6 3PT, 10/16 overall. 8. Jason Bendebel (Boondocks, AAA-P) -- The "Bendebel One" is a definite All-Name Team nominee: 24/4/2/2. Shot extremely well too: perfect 4/4 from 3, 9/18 shooting overall. 9. Kim Buenaflor (Smokey, AAA-6) -- How'd he get his 24, you ask? Going an unreal 7/9 from the arc sure helps! Also added a board, 2 dimes, and 3 swipes. 10. Thuan Ta (Mo-Haye, AAA-6) -- Random Vinsanity Pondering #49: If "Mo-Haye" isn't one of the most cryptic Dream League team names, then I don't know what is! 24/2/1/2...4/6 3PT, 9/13 FG overall. RODMANESQUE'S (Masonesque's???) 1. Mason Chin (Beast, AAA-6) -- OK...is this guy for real? Might seriously start considering changing the name of this category. 20 points, a whopping 17 caroms, 2 dimes, and 2 steals. Were the Alameda Ballaz just conceding boards to him? I wouldn't be surprised if Chin is averaging at least 15 boards a game. 2. Andy Kim (Boondocks, AAA-P) -- Kim was inhaling loose balls like a madman: 12/16/2/blk. 3. Taraz Lee (2449 Squad, AL-P) -- Monster game for the 2449 frontman: 21 points (incl. 3/7 3PT), 16 boards, 2 dimes, and 2 blocks. 4. Tony Yee (SFFD, AAA-V) -- The firefighters' big body down low scored 6 points, pulled down 13 boards, and had a steal and block. 5. Brad Lin (Perpetrators, AAA-E) -- 22/13/4/3 stl. 6. Andrew Lee (Wildcards, NL) -- Seems like NL players don't miss much. So if they do, they need a dude like Lee to clean the glass: 12/12/2 (6/9 FG). 7. Mike Singh (Bomb Squad, AAA-P) -- Random Vinsanity Pondering #789: Why can I picture Singh moonlighting as a bouncer? 19/12/3/2 blk. 8. Mark Scates (Rich's Rayguns Reborn, AL-E) -- Random Vinsanity Shoutout #234: Thanks for hooking up the sweet 24 Hr. Fitness membership, Mark! 4/12/blk. 9. Mike Lee (Rich's Rayguns Reborn, AL-E) -- 17 pts, 12 boards, 3 dimes, a steal, and 2 blocks. Lee and Scates straight-up dominated the glass. 10. Tim Tully (SJ Kidz, NL) -- A solid 12/12/2 for the Kidz post man. 11. Omar Brodrick (SF Lions, AAA-E) -- Brodrick is quickly becoming the lockdown defender and rebounding fiend the Lions have needed. His length and athleticism allow him to cover pesky guards as well as centers: 6/12/ast. THE CHEFS 1. Byron Tiger (Smokey, AAA-6) -- If this guy's name is for real (not some random joke), then he makes Vinsanity's All-Name First Team, hands down. Tiger clawed his way through the X-Treme defenses to post 4 points, 2 boards, 8 dimes, and 2 steals. 2. Chris Tsutsui (Ballaz By Law, AL-P) -- Had 13 pts, 4 boards, 7 dimes, and 2 steals. Also went 3/6 from three. 3. Mike Vu (Ballin', AAA-E) -- Nic "Ignition" Vu's older (and similarly tatted out) bro had 6 points, 2 boards, and 6 dimes. 4. Ross Hiroshima (Frisco Super Chronic, AL-P) -- Stayed true to his Bomber-self with 4 made 3's, but had a well-rounded line overall: 16 pts, 10 boards, 5 dimes, and 2 steals. 5. Jay Magat (Bomb Squad, AAA-P) -- Had a hot 4th Quarter where he scored all 11 of his points. Added 3 boards and 5 dimes as well. 6. Vince Chooi (Rich's Rayguns Reborn, AL-E) -- Chooi (insert random Star Wars joke here) brings a real street element to the League, what with his flashy yo-yo handles and dishes. 10 and 5 (probably) flavorful dimes. JKIDD-STERS 1. Sunny Margate (Prodigies, AL-E) -- At this point, can we just assume Sunny's gonna make S&B on some list anytime he gets on the hardwood? 14/7/6/4/blk. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Margate got injured in that game and will be out for the next 3-4 weeks.] 2. Shane Rivera (Alameda Ballaz, AAA-6) -- 10/7/7/4 stl. 3. Adam Blightman (Ballaz By Law, AL-P) -- Had an off-day shooting-wise (4/13), but made up with his stellar all-around stat-stuffin': 13 pts., 7 boards, and 6 dimes. 4. Mark Scates (Up In Smoke, NL) -- Just about sniffing quadruple-double territory: 5 points, 5 boards, 6 dishes, a steal, and a Zo-like 7 swats! 5. Barry Lee (Prodigies, AL-E) -- Random Vinsanity Observation #563: The younger of the Lee brothers (Torrent Lee is his big bro) sure has an unorthodox-looking J. Seems like he double pumps in his release. The funny thing is, they go in. At least I haven't seen a Dream Leaguer pulling a Shawn Marion! 5 points, 6 boards, 4 dimes, and 5 rips for the elusive PG. 6. Dennis Deudor (Bomb Squad, AAA-P) -- Deudor brings grit to the Bomb Squad guard rotation. Only scored 3 points, but grabbed 5 boards, distributed 5, and stripped some unfortunate baller(s) 6 times. 7. David Wong (X-Treme, AAA-6) -- Wong had 8 points, 10 boards, and 5 steals. Dude would have ended up as a Bricklayer though if I wasn't in a good mood and feeling generous (3/14, 21% FG). See what I mean? 8. Vic Jacobs (Trybe, AAA-E) -- 17/3/4/4. 9. Joe Santos (Hotshots, NL) -- 9/7/5/2 stl. BOMBERS 1. Sean Caiola (SloJams, AAA-P) -- What in the world is the NL-caliber Caiola doing on a AAA-P squad? Practicing his stroke? Sure seems like it: 21 points (5/7 3PT), 6 boards, a dime, and a steal. Are there going to be enough shots for him, Ryan Parrilla, and Chris Der? Time will tell. 2. Nestor Lopez (Grinders, AAA-P) -- 22 points, 6 boards, 3 dimes, and a steal...sunk 6/10 threes. Lopez was grind-DING! 3. Randy Banaria (Alameda Ballaz, AAA-6) -- 20/2/3/stl (5/6 3PT...actually only attempted 3 point shots all game). 4. Ben Lee (Ballaz By Law, AL-P) -- Get this: Lee only attempted threes...no two's, no FT's. Since he went 5/6 from three (15 total points), I can see why. Also added 4 boards and a dime. 5. David Hui (Raptors, AAA-6) -- Man...the third DL baller in a row to only attempt 3's! 15 pts (5/12, 42% 3PT), a board, a dime, and 2 steals. 6. Kei Yamazaki (Triple Threat, AAA-E) -- The youngest of the three Yamazaki brothers, Kei is one of the best young talents in the League. Games like this show why: 19 points, 6 boards, 4 dimes, and 3 steals while hitting 4/6 from deep. Can't wait to see where he's at in 3 years time. [EDITOR'S NOTE: I keep forgetting to ask, any relation to Just Say Yes To Life's Yuki Yamazaki?] 7. Johnny Liu (JSYTL, AL-E) -- Aside from being one of the smoothest cats in the League, Liu can knock down the triple at will: 20 points (4/9 from downtown), 4 boards, and a steal. 8. Khuong Luu (Das Boot, AAA-V) -- Oh my...the 4th week in a row he's made this list. Any bets he can make it a 5th next week? 16/10/2/stl/blk...4/11 3PT. 9. Taraz Lee (Wildcatz, NL) -- Seemz like the NL teamz like to use Z's instead of S's in their team namez. I personally think they look doper that way. Anywayz, Taraz waz perfect from the arc, going 4/4 en route to 15/10/stl/blk. 10. Sagar Savant (Run FOB, AAA-V) -- Easiest nickname of all time: "The Savant." As in "don't sag on The Savant or he'll light your ass up." 20 points on 4/7 from three. 11. Doni Guitarte (SF Lions, AAA-E) -- Guitarte's starting to heat up for the Lions: scored 18 (4/6 3PT), grabbed 6 boards, and had an assist. BRICKLAYERS 1. Jason Miou (X-Treme, AAA-6) -- 0/10, need I say more? 2. Ryan Cruz (Hotshots, NL) -- Guess he was just having a bad day: 4/10/4...1/10 shooting. 3. Allan Kwong (Raptors, AAA-6) -- 8/6/3/3 blk...3/13 (23% FG) shooting. 4. Galen Ma (Triple Threat, AAA-E) -- Kinda strange that the Dream League veteran Ma would shoot so poorly: nice 14/5/3 but not-so-nice 4/17 (24% FG) shooting. 5. Nic Duy Vu (Ballin', AAA-E) -- Speaking of strange...it's almost blasphemy to see a player of Vu's caliber on this list. Goes to show that every player has a bad day: 10/1/4 (4/16, 25% FG). 6. Ray Castillo (Trybe, AAA-E) -- Random Vinsanity Pondering #8579: Just how many teams is Castillo on? I'd throw 4 squads out there as a guesstimate. Scored 8 points on 3/11 (27% FG). 7. Curtis Sasaki (High Life, REC) -- Scored 12, but only made 5/18 (28% FG). 8. Tony Xiang (Mo-Haye, AAA-6) -- 6 points, 12 boards, and an unsightly 3/10 shooting day. 9. John Kim (Young'n, AAA-6) -- Another decent line on the surface (12/6/3/2) hiding a horrendous shooting day...2/10 jacking from three, 4/13 (31% FG) shooting overall. "THE COMMISH STILL GOT IT" AWARD The Commish (L'Unis, REC) turned back the clock with his performance against the SF Free Agent squad, scoring 18, pulling down 7 boards, and dishing out 2 dimes. Suiting up for his Poorcats (AAA-V), the PMC dropped a cool 22, going 4/5 from downtown and shooting an impressive 9/11 (82% FG) from the field overall. In both cases, I'm willing to bet he scorekept the games before and after...talk about a multitasker! [EDITOR'S NOTE: Makes up for the last few weeks when I must've shot like 30%, just barely good enough to miss the Bricklayers list. Btw, if you were just leaving me off the Bricklayers list because you were being nice, please continue such niceties. And no, I am not capable of getting those same shots off if it were AAA-E or AAA-P.] CORRECTIONS John Dang of Terrace Park (REC) was apparently listed as "John Deng" on the 10/7 installment of S&B. I use the word apparently because I can't confirm this due to all the stats and numbers swimming in my head. Sorry man, but again, it's not my fault: I just type what I see on the scoresheet! [EDITOR'S NOTE: Who knows if it's correct on the website! Email me if it's not and we'll see if we can get it corrected amongst all the other stats crap we got to do.] Not really a correction, but I just wanted to address the Commish's query about the AAA-6 Angkorwattz team name. Angkor Wat is the name of an ancient, world-famous temple in Cambodia. In fact it was named one of the World Heritage Sites in 1992 (check out Vinsanity droppin' the knowledge!). So it might not be a shot in the dark to assume most of the team is Cambodian (I know SF Vaz San is for sure). Yo Commish: your image of a "Popeye tattoo with an anchor and a lightbulb" was so random and bizarre that it put my ramblings to shame! Props!!! On a side note, I'm really curious about the name of the REC team you play for Commish -- L'Unis. I've seen it spelled both L'Unis and Lunis. What's the definitive version? And even more compelling, what does it mean? I'm picturing a team with a French influence, hence the superfluous "la" in the l'name. But you know, I could be totally l'wrong, l'know? [EDITOR'S NOTE: Le Vinsanitie est l'wrong about L'Unis. Actually, picture Sponge Bob Square Pants' buddy, the pink squishy starfish (I forgot his name) except yellow-gold colored -- well, maybe, you'll see. Torrent Lee originally named the team "Little Unis". So then I asked him, "WTF? I wear an XL uni and you wear at least a large uni. OK, maybe Jason Ng wears a small, but I don't get it." "Nah, I meant 'uni' as in the sea urchin sushi dish." "Ah, now that's funny!" Btw, if you want a taste of sea urchin sushi, please go check out Kobe Sake, 312 El Camino Real San Bruno, CA 94066, (650) 866-3278 -- ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT (AYCE) SUSHI FOR $28 ON MONDAY NIGHTS!!! After I took Torrent out for some AYCE sushi in Vegas, somehow he found this place and lemme tell ya, it ranks high up there. Torrent goes at least once per month. So anyways, I contracted the name to L'Unis (misspelled as Lunis with no apostrophe), which sounds like "loonies", which is what we are because Torrent and I have played a lot of organized ball, while Jason, Gordon Li, and Brandon Chin have NEVER played any kind of basketball with a ref. That's pretty loony of us to go into a league with 3 guys who have never played before! Plus, after toiling in the AAA-Elite for many a-season, barely getting my shot off against those quick little guards, I needed to get on a team and division like this where I can get some of my mojo back. Where teammates can watch me jack up an ill-advised three without thinking it was ill-advised. I'm just happy to have the ability to attempt double-digits in shot attempts for once in a long, long time. Cuz if you're playing in the AAA and don't have the perfect team to set you up for shots, i.e., a good point guard, you're not gonna get a lot of open looks against the quick guards in the AAA unless you yourself have some speed.] FUN STAT OF THE WEEKEND or "FATHER & SON STRIKES BACK" The Sales family was at it again last Sunday. Joel Sales Sr. (Hotshots, NL) posted 18 points (4/7 3PT), 3 boards, and a block. Joel Sales Jr. (also on Hotshots) outdid his pops with a brilliant, all-around performance: 13 points, 5 boards, 9 dimes, and a steal. Father and son's stats combined? Brace yourselves: 31/8/9/stl/blk. Just filthy! I wonder how old Sales Jr. is (anyone know?). I know he's a young up-and-comer, but to do what he did in the NL...it's just scary to think where he'll be in a few years. Vinsanity Side Note #709: How cool would it be to have a Dream League Futures Game (under 20) showcasing the young talents emerging in the League? The aforementioned Kei Yamazaki would be a participant, as well as Joel Sales Jr.. Another nominee who would definitely headline the game would be veteran Dream Leaguer Jerico Camasura's little cousin Ivan Camasura. It's too bad he wouldn't be able to play since he took his Monta Ellis-esque game to North Carolina to play high school hoops. As someone who's witnessed his fearless drives to the rack and athleticism, it's extremely hard to fathom the fact that he just turned 16. Yes, 16! Any other leads on other rising stars in the Dream League landscape? Email me! [EDITOR'S NOTE: Wow, I had no idea Kei was under 20. Vic Jacobs of Trybe AAA-E is a young'un too. Sales' teammate James Encelan is also under 20 (and playing in the NL). Nick Wong, formerly of Rich's Rayguns, is only 19. And Ryan Cruz is also 19. Mykel Mallilin and some of the other Spartans in REC-O are most likely under 20 as well. But get this. As of last May, Sales Sr. was FORTY-FIVE. Email Vinsanity with more age reports.] |