The Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam semi-finals threw up two close games, one result going with form the other a major surprise.
Top seeded Youthtown Clique took on The Birdmen in the first semi-final. The Clique was without three premier players, Lindsay Tait, Shea Ili and Robson Tavita but did welcome back new Wellington Saints recruit Dion Prewster to their lineup. The Clique got off to a fast start leading 28-20 at the first break. Jonathon Southey, Duane Bailey and Prewster were all prominent as the Clique preserved their advantage, 72-67 with ten minutes remaining.
The Birdmen’s cause was not helped early in the final quarter when in quick succession Johnny Fesolai picked up a technical foul and Chris Fahrensohn fouled out. Those two pieces of adversity seemed to galvanise the Birdmen, and Casey Frank in particular. He scored the basket to tie the game at 75 apiece and then proceeded to score 10 of his teams last 14 points as they eased into a lead they refused to relinquish. The Clique had opportunities in the dying minutes but poor shooting from the foul line didn’t aid their cause, The Birdmen surprising but deserved winners.
Final Score;
The Birdmen 90 (Nash Oh 24, Frank 23, Fesolai 12, Carl Buck 11)
Youthtown Clique 87 (Prewster 22, Bailey 19, Southey 17)
The second semi-final went to form but the Block City Brawlers had to do it the hard way requiring a late surge to get past the Flava Flyers127-114
The opening quarter featured a couple of basketball rarities. No disrespect to two of NZ’s all time greats but a Dillon Boucher three is a fairly unusual sight and three consecutive triples from Paul Henare is not too common either. We were treated to both as Henare’s Brawlers and Boucher’s Flyers played out a high scoring half, 71- 64 to the Brawlers.
Hayden Allen knocked down 20 points in the second quarter for the Flyers but they could only manage 23 as a team in the third stanza as both teams added some starch to their defence, 94-86 to the Flyers entering the fourth quarter.
The scoring slowed further in the early stages of the final period- a Darryl Cartwright reverse tied the scores, 102-102 with 4 minutes remaining. The intensity began to increase and when Brett Wadsworth gifted Allen two points courtesy of a technical foul the ascendancy was back with the Flyers. A Houston O’Riley score was sandwiched between two Jarrod Kenny baskets, the Brawlers called a time out, four points behind with 2:40 left on the clock.
Whatever was said in the huddle worked wonders as the Brawlers unleashed a 13-2 run to steal the win, Tohi Smith-Milner adding the exclamation mark with a couple of dunks at the end.
Final Score;
Block City Brawlers 127 (Henare 30, O’Riley 29, Smith-Milner 28, Burton 27)
Flava Flyers 114 (Allen 39, Kenny 30, Boucher 11, Tyler Kerlin 10)
The final will be held at Youthtown this coming Saturday, December 7th, tip-off midday.
LACEY LOWDOWN 