Game 1 – Lewisham Wombats 104 defeat Guanzheng Goldfish 92It is always exciting to see two very different styles go head to head on the court, and that is what we had in the first game of this round. It was "Berries and Melons Night"
http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/300W/f/2010/164/f/5/Journ... at the Tavern, and the Master Chef came looking to fill a full platter, lighting up the court for a game high 38pts. With the game swinging back and forth, it is understandable that the Wombats fans unleashed a wave of empty (and some not so empty) cups when Birol Yalduz was forced to bench following a hard shot from Radoslaw Rymer, which left Yalduz with a suspected dislocated fringe. Thankfully for the Wombats, this early concern was proved unwarranted. It also did nothing to slow the Wombats, with Manfrotto, Laumianskas and Goodall taking up the slack as the Wombats juiced the Goldfish in the final period.
Votes3 – Xie Guanzheng (Guanzheng Goldfish) 38pts
2 – Birol Yalduz (Lewisham Wombats) 22pts (10-13FG)
1 – Antonio Manfrotto (Lewisham Wombats) 22pts, 12rbds
The Master Chef gets the 3 votes for another outstanding offensive performance, and a solid defensive performance against Conghai and Gafa. If Yalduz had been able to play out the game, he would probably have won the three votes, but his 30mins was easily worth the 2 votes. Manfrotto gets the votes over his fellow Euro-Big Laumianskas because he is more high profile and that clearly effects voting.
Game 2 – TeamAkuma 94 defeat Baxter Bogans 87Take note fellow fishbowlers, The Fat Cat is back! Yes, the man who at one time had the damn MVP Award named after him took full control of this game right when his team needed him to, as a Smeltz inspired TeamAkuma steamrolled over the top of the Bogans in the final period to take the victory. Smeltz scored 12pts in the 4th period, as he Diogo Vargas simply out muscled the Bogans. The newest Bogan, 7’2” Aussie Merlin Grima could do nothing but watch, and then ask for an autograph. Following the game, Smeltz was heard to say that he was glad to be back playing well in the Fishbowl, and that it was nice to “not have to worry about bloody Duff-Duff trying to bang my mum.”
Votes3 – Ky Smeltz (TeamAkuma) 33pts, 17rbds, 14-17FG
2 – Diogo Bernardo Vargas (TeamAkuma) 21pts, 20rbds (12OR)
1 – Hannes Allandi (Baxter Bogans) 26pts
Fat Cat for the 3 votes; with Vargas securing the 2 votes. Outstanding rebounding from the two TeamAkuma bigs as they combined to outrebound the entire Bogans line-up. Hannes Allandi picks up one vote, as my fiancé is of Estonian heritage and she would be upset with me if she knew I had over-looked a fellow countryman.
Game 3 – Slam ! 104 defeat Western Titans 92It was a firey start to the 14th encounter between these two teams, with 18 fouls being committed in the first period. Slam ! were out of the gates quickly, catching a tired looking Titans team off-guard, who were clearly still recovering from a week that saw most of the starters play a league game, two cup games and in the II.4 all-star game. With both teams playing a Look Inside, it was never going to go well for the Titans once franchise player Uditi Samdup fouled out early after a great offensive start. While Bento Filho tried to fill the gap, he was never going to stop Razvan Muresan and Calixto Delgadillo. The score only looks this close due to the Slam ! stars getting a well-deserved break in the final period.
Votes3 – Razvan Muresan (Slam !) 25pts, 15rbds, 4asts
2 – Calixto Delgadillo (Slam !) 21pts, 8rbds
1 – Peeter Haav (Slam !) 16pts, 6asts, 3 stls,10-12 FT
Muresan and Delgadillo are easy choices for the top votes; having shown they are a step above their opponents. I could have given Filho the 1 vote, but Haav played the great PG role of the Look Inside. Plus, the whole Estonian thing.