By: Liam Blutman
The BIG3 has advanced all the way to week 5 as this season has clearly sped by and excited to report that things are really heating up. This weekend the games took place in Kansas City, Missouri at the Sprint Center and Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The first game of the week featured 3’s Company at 1-3 and Bivouac who came in at 2-2. 3’s Company dominated the first half as they led 26-13 and they never looked back in their 50-34 win. Andre Emmett scored 23, grabbed 9 boards, and hit three 3’s. It looks as if though this 3’s Company team is more comfortable without Baron Davis on the bench. Perhaps he was a major distraction, who knew… The supporting cast of Jason Maxiell, Drew Gooden, Dijon Thompson, and Dahntay Jones all pitched in with 5+ points. And nice to see that 3’s Company finally lived up to their team name as they drained 7 3’s today, finally they shot the 3-ball well! Will the hot shooting carry over to next week? For Bivouac it was simply a lackluster performance, I mean what else is there to say? Credit to Anthony Morrow for scoring 15 and draining a three as well as a four. He was the lone contributor for Ant Army today. Next week will be a short week with just three games on the schedule and Bivouac will look to redeem themselves against Aliens while 3’s Company tries to win a third straight against Killer 3’s.
Oh man this next game had to be the most coveted matchup of the entire season. You have the current startup powerhouse, Triplets going up against the defending champs Power. Two of the best teams in the league dueling at Sprint Center in KC. In the first half you saw Corey Maggette score 10 while Joe Johnson fought back with 7 of his own but it was Maggette and Power who held a 25-19 lead at the break. The Triplets did come storming out of the halftime break and they took a lead and commanded the game for a few possessions. Joe Johnson was able to muster 19 points as he added to his monstrous season but it wasn’t enough to overcome Power. Maggette scored 20 and showed everybody why he’s the reigning MVP and is still a force to be reckoned with despite the recent injuries he’s suffered. This was just a REALLY good game between two really good teams. We’ll be super fortunate if Power and Triplets are the championship game. It’d be the best thing for this league in my opinion. Lest we forget that both of these teams are headed by females? Lisa Leslie created a feared expansion team in Triplets while Nancy Lieberman has formed an empire in Power. Next week Power gets a bye while Triplets take on Ball Hogs.
The final game in KC was between 3 Headed Monsters and Tri-State. Two really disappointing teams so far, underachieving big time. At the half it’s a 25-21 lead for Tri-State thanks to Amar’e Stoudemire’s 9 points and 5 boards. Unfortunately, they are also missing Nate Robinson today. In the 2nd half, 3HM came out on a 6-0 run which was quickly halted by Tri-State who answered with a 10-4 run and retook the lead. A lead they never relinquished as Tri-State won 50-46. And oh man… am I disappointed in 3 Headed Monsters. Another disappointing performance from one of the more talented teams in this league. 3HM now sits at 2-3 and has a tough uphill climb ahead as they try to make the playoffs. Today they got 14 and 16 from Reggie Evans, 11 and 6 from Rashard Lewis. Support was yet again, lacking. Ugh. Tri-State got a much needed win and didn’t need Nate Robinson to do it and Amar’e showed us why he should be in the NBA yet again. It was a cool 19 points, 9 boards, 2 steals, and 2 emphatic blocks for the big man. Both of these teams will have next week off, here’s to hoping they both improve with the time off.
Amidst the competitive BIG3 games in KC, some members of the community and the Kansas City Young3 clinic were invited to come on the court and partake in a mini Young3 camp. In the past we’ve just let the kids shoot some layups but for today the youth worked on their defensive sliding and stances en route to receiving a pass and finishing with a layup.
Next we entered Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for a super mysterious matchup between Aliens and Ghost Ballers. I’ll get straight to the final score, Aliens won 51-35. Aliens… Area 51… 51 Points… It’s all so fitting, eh? Shannon Brown ran the show with 18 points and 10 rebounds, that included two 3’s and a four! Shannon dropped Ricky Davis to the floor with a slick dribble move en route to ending the game with a three! Heck of a game from Shannon to right the Aliens UFO to victory. Definitely a really impressive win for this team. Now with Ghost Ballers, what have I talked about every week? Lack of scoring depth. Well, today they got 12 points from Alex Scales but when your top three doesn’t produce like usual… things won’t go well. Ricky Davis had 10, Jamario Moon had 9 and Mike Taylor had just 4. It appears as if though Ghost Ballers exceeded expectations early and they’ve come back down to earth in the past weeks. They’ll have next week off as they’ll need to regroup while Aliens will take on Bivouac.
Trilogy and Enemies was the next game in OKC. From start to finish the men in red dominated this game. That’s right Trilogy has won their 3rd straight and are the hottest team in the league and just beat Enemies 50-38. I’m not sure what Kenyon Martin did to turn this squad around but he’s contending for coach of the year right now! David Hawkins and James White scored 18 a piece, and combined for 16 rebounds while Hawk added 5 assists. They each made two trey balls in the victory. This team is rolling and while it’s surprising, man they are fun to watch right now. For Enemies it was Craig Smith carrying yet again as he scored 18 in the loss, the only Enemy who scored 10+ points today. Royce White added 9, Perry Jones scored 7, while Gilbert Arenas only got 2. The supporting cast was non-existent today and clearly Craig Smith can’t do all this by himself. All this game did was show that Craig Smith deserves to be in the MVP race, he’s right there with Joe Johnson. Both teams will have next week off.
The final game of the week was a mismatch between Ball Hogs and Killer 3’s. To nobody’s surprise Killer 3’s won by a score of 50-35. Franklin Session balled out with 17 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists. Such an impressive performance, especially when you factor in that Session was just playing Drew League games yesterday! That’s correct, he’s playing in the Drew then flying to OKC and leading his team to victory with a killer performance. On the other side, Will McDonald had another productive game with 19 points and a cool 8 rebounds. You also had Brian Scalabrine with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. What a game for the White Mamba! Hopefully we can see Scal play more minutes in the coming weeks since his team is all but out of contention. Next week you’ll see Ball Hogs play Triplets and Killer 3’s gets 3’s Company.
That was a pretty fun week of BIG3 basketball. The Triplets/Power game lived up to the hype and has us all craving for a championship rematch! Next week we’ll see just three games in Salt Lake City, Utah!
