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Linndale GM Roberto Gurgone looks at the trophy case in the team complex.

“I know what you’re thinking,” head coach Pio Reina said to his longtime friend and teammate. “Enjoy it, but don’t dwell on it. We still have work to do.”

“Yeah,” Roberto replied. “We still haven’t won a thing in Division III. I suppose we ought to get down to business. Let me guess, Byron has the bigs, Marshall has the wings, Air has the guards, and we’re getting the entire squad. No rookie meeting?”

“Not this year. Time for men to be men and leaders to lead. We’re going to find out which of our veterans can lead. It’s time for some guys to show up or grow up…”


At a local restaurant in a private dining room…

Happy Ourer sat at a table with his colleagues Joshua Doe, Jimmy Buckitts, and Sam Dunkley. “Alright,” Happy said, “Jimmy, what do you see from the bigs?”

“Happy, the team upgraded the center position, but we don’t know what it actually looks like yet. Renato Corro was ineligible for the playoffs. The team grabbed him with an eye towards this season. This move puts a target on the back of Ondrej Lecian. He needs to starting showing up and showing out. Rookie Duane Carlson is a non factor. Pere Vendrell should continue the strong development path he was on once he was acquired. I think he forces his way into a prominent role. Gian-Luca Twaruschek is the guy to watch. He or Vendrell should anchor the second unit, likely with Rafet Ozver, who should not be slept on. Linndale is deeper up front than they ever have been. We all know what Joy Beko brings to the table. This is as deep a group as we’ve seen in Linndale top to bottom.”

On the practice courts…
Byron Helms looked at the group. “Team assignments on the board. Rookies sub in for whichever team calls you, so pay attention. If you guys aren’t in shape we’ll find that out fast. Full court, first team to 100 wins, myself, coach Allnite, and coach Richards will call the fouls. Point guards, run your squads...



At the restaurant…

“Joshua,” asked Happy, “you can’t be serious about that, can you?”

Joshua calmly spoke. “Happy, I said what I said. This is the best and deepest roster I’ve ever seen here, but there are some serious concerns here. Inside offense is a concern. Who is that guy that has to be stopped? Who’s starting with Beko? Corro makes the most sense, but I suspect it’s a contest between Ozver, Twaruschek, and Vendrell. This season has to be about Linndale fundamentals; defense, rebounding, and ball security. We’re going to have to outwork everyone, and don’t get me started on the shooting!”

On the practice courts…

“Well Marshall, Pio is in midseason form.” Byron was amused.

“Think we ought to step in and be the voice of reason,” asked Marshall.

“Nope. We’re gonna have to ride this group hard, Marshall. I got 7 bigs. I‘m gonna have to lean on 2 and make the others force their way into our plans. They have to.”

“Well, I got 4 wings. I might need to borrow a couple of your guys on occasion. Looking in the backcourt, I don’t know that Frias will be made available to me this season, and Air is gonna have to use Kops and Bodura a lot. Gonna need to get Uzek more court time somehow. Ultimately, everyone is going to have to step it up. Even us coaches.”

Air Allnite walked over to Marshall and Byron. “Marshall, we’ll talk who’s available and where with Pio. Byron, expect the same deal as last season. Staff meeting after practice, boys.”

Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/19/2024 12:41:28 AM

Happy Ourer: Welcome one and all to Linndale’s return to D3 basketball! We’re gonna jump right in and go straight to Joshua Doe! Joshua, we’re coming in hot! What does Pio Reina’s squad have to do get the win tonight?

Joshua Doe: Make it ugly and lean on depth. Get Eternityz Rostah into foul trouble early and make them play short handed. They don’t have numbers, but they are supremely talented. Hope that the age on the roster shows, and not the experience. You’re not going to run them out of the gym and you’re not going to bully them. Keep it close and let the chips fall where they may. The bigs are going to have to show up, and not just one of them. It’s going to take all of them, but Linndale has some talent and depth up front. Sam?

Sam Dunkley: I don’t disagree, but you have to slow down Toru Mizoguchi as well. Asking that Linndale defense to slow the Rostah attack down is going to tell us a lot about how far the defense has improved. Offensively, Linndale has been consistenly inconsistent, never able to put it all together for a full game or multiple games.

HO: Sam, Joshua, let’s go down courtside to see what Jimmy Buckitts has to say. Jimmy, where do you weigh in on this?

Jimmy Buckitts: Linndale shed their most explosive scoring threat because he didn’t play defense well enough. Pio Reina demands that from his teams. This is a proven, championship caliber defense. To have a shot at an upset, he’s going to have to throw caution to the wind and see what happens. He might have to sacrifice defense in some spots to get some offense on the floor. Linndale always defends the floor at the expense of offense. What does it look like for them to make the opposition defend the floor? What’s the best offensive unit the can put on the floor? We need to see that.

JD: I played with Pio Reina. So did two of his assistants, Marshall Richards and Byron Helms. Sacrifice defense?!? I know those men. I battled with those men. Sacrificing defense is not in him. But Jimmy is wrong on one point. This is a D4 championship defense. That defense isn’t going to be good enough to win a D3 championship. Pio knows that, too.

HO: Joshua has a point there. We’re going to see how this defense holds up.

SD: Jimmy, are you hearing anything about who’s playing tonight?

JB: Sam, I spoke with associate head coach Byron Helms, and he states the obvious. The rookies, second year man Luis Isarre, and Ercan Uzek are inactive for tonight’s game.

SD: That sounds like they’re going to try and pound it inside.

JB: Pio is on record as stating they want three ball handlers on the floor at the same time at all times. He’s never clarified what that means or who those ball handlers are.

JD: Come on, Jimmy! We know who the ball handlers are!

SD: And we know who the scorers are. We’re going to get a decent read on how far the offense has come. If Pio Reina and his staff hasn’t fixed the offense, he’d better make sure it’s on its way or this will be a long season.

JB: The shooters are going to have to make shots. I’m not sure they will be able to.

HO: Score predictions?

JD: I have faith in Pio to keep it close. Rostah 102 Linndale 97

SD: I don’t. Rostah 120 Linndale 89.

JB: Linndale 111 Rostah 108.

HO: And I’m picking Rostah 115 Linndale 104. Jimmy's the only one picking a Linndale win, and Joshua isn't picking a win but is picking a close game. We'll be back after the break with a look around the league.

Happy Ourer: We’re back for a look around the league, to give fans an idea of what to expect. Let’s take a look at Linndale’s conference, the Great 8.

Joshua Doe: It feels weird to hear that. It’s sick and wrong. There’s a whole generation of fans who grew up knowing nothing of Big 8 pride and dominance, and now we’re asking them to change their ways? That’s just sick and wrong, man.

Sam Dunkley: Let’s kick this thing off by looking at the Andersonville Alligators. They’ve got a lot of point guards, 7 to be exact, but the ones to watch are 20 year old Sanjin Vujadin and 22 year old Andreas Van Staey. In the front court, they have some depth. Arnaud Roche and Warner Lemons are a problem, while Mikey Cummings and Basil Jenkins are intriguing. They look very thin on the wings, and that’s going to be an issue. We’ll see how they get around that. I hear they don’t much like the new teams in the league, with a particular distaste for Linndale.

HO: Sam, what can you tell us about the Cleveland Heat Lakers?

SD: I hate the name. I’m a Cleveland kid, and everybody knows that there are only 2 pro basketball teams in that area. The Cavaliers gonna let ‘em know in the NBA, and the big brothers here in Linndale.

HO: Sam, it could be Cleveland, Texas, or Cleveland Mississippi…

JD: Ain’t nobody trying to hear that nonsense! Even you don’t believe that!

SD: They’re gonna to go only as far as Lou Salisbury can take them. How important is he? Without him their roster’s payroll is roughly $90,000. He more than doubles it by himself. If he misses any time, it’s not going to be good for them. Maybe Lucius Law develops quickly for them, but they only go where Lou can take them. And Happy, Joshua is right; even you don’t buy that.

JD: Next up, the Duke Devilz. That team is a problem. With Antonio Silva and Benedetto Marsili up front, they’re strong inside. Antonio Timpanaro and Ryan Lian take care of the wings. Matas Levickis is the head of that snake. Their problem is the lack of any kind of depth. If they miss one player, they’re probably fine. 2 or more? Things get hairy real fast. That’s an injury and a foul out, or ejection, and it turns a game they should win into a probable loss. I can’t believe I just said a nice thing about Duke. I need confessions for my sins... (part 1 of 2)

HO: While Joshua recovers from that bit of trauma, let’s look at Linndale’s opponent for tonight, Eternityz Rostah. They have a short roster, but it is a very talented one. Toru Mizoguchi will play a leading role for them, but don’t sleep on George Purcell. I say don’t sleep on him because with the experienced and talented crew around those two, that team is good enough to win no matter who is having an off night. Their depth could be an issue, but I wouldn’t bank on it. That’s just a gut feeling I have.

SD: Happy, it’s always a good idea to trust your instincts. Right now, mine are telling me to go to Jimmy Buckitts. Jimmy!

Jimmy Buckitts: Sam! Everything that describes Eternityz Rostah can be said about Organization XIII. The Organization is probably a bit stronger inside, but if you think that means they can’t get it done in the backcourt, allow me to introduce you to Ansari Harrari. When you’re playing this team, you do so with the understanding that your A game might not be enough. Expect them and Eternityz Rostah to fight for the top spot in the playoff seeding.


HO: That brings us to Nanooks of the North. Adnon Stadnichenko has few players around him. He’s being asked to be a miracle worker. Can they beat you? Yes. Should they? No.

JD: Happy, say it like you mean it! Say it with your whole chest! Put some stank on that!

HO: Shouldn’t you be in confession right now?

JD: If I’m confessing sins, I might as well get them all out there! I don’t think there’s a worse team in the Great 8. It is what it is!

HO: Clearly Joshua is feeling some kind of way today.

JD: It’s the season opener! Basketball is back baby!

HO: Sam, bring us home. What can you tell us about the final team in the Great 8?

SD: K8be4L are a younger team, they have depth, and they look a lot like Linndale from a few seasons ago in that they’re good enough to beat if you’re not careful. They could sneak up on a lot of teams, or they could get beat by them. Hard to get a read on them, but they will go as far as Ralf Landherr can lead them.

HO: Who's the MVP of the Great 8?

JD: Too early to say, but if I have to make a choice it's gonna be Lou Salisbury.

SD: No way they win enough for that to happen. I'm going with Toru Mizoguchi.

JB: I'm gonna pull out a sleeper pick. Walt Pasman develops on offense and plays incredible defense to steal MVP.

JD: Now, look Jimmy. We all know Walt can play, but that is a ridiculous take, man.

HO: I think we all know the MVP isn't coming from Linndale. No one is going to get the numbers needed to do that. Pio runs a team effort where everyone contributes and no one dominates.

JD: Maybe that needs to change to a point. Let your best players go do their thing, and the other guys will find their roles and fill them.

HO: Have you told him that?

JD: (laughing) Nah; that's a job for someone much bigger than me! Pio is the toughest person I know, and i know Byron Helms!

SD: We're gonna have to take this to the commercial break folks, and when we come back Happy will have the call and Joshua is riding shotgun!


Last edited by Speedtraps at 9/21/2024 7:42:00 PM

Day 1 (Saturday 21 September 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
AZ Sunburn 110 - Anchorage Allstars. 104
Defenseless Babies 125 - brooklyn knicks 123
Fondy Cardinals 105 - The Dachshunds 120
Las Vegas Red Pandas 109 - GloryBoyz 121
Linndale 96 - Eternityz Rostah 115
Andersonville Alligators 99 - K8be4L 108
Organization XIII 136 - Nanooks of the North 108
Duke Devilz 139 - Cleveland Heat Lakers 123

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 139 : Duke Devilz
Rebounds : 55 : AZ Sunburn, brooklyn knicks, Eternityz Rostah
Assists : 38 : The Dachshunds
Steals : 16 : Fondy Cardinals
Block Shots : 10 : Anchorage Allstars.

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 41 : H. Lý (K8be4L)
Rebounds : 20 : B. Macis (AZ Sunburn)
Assists : 15 : K. Telén (Andersonville Alligators)
Steals : 4 : K. Bulat (Organization XIII)
Block Shots : 5 : J. Yongyi (Anchorage Allstars.)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : M. Levickis (Duke Devilz) (35 Points, 4 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 47
Shooting Guard : H. Lý (K8be4L) (41 Points, 1 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Small Forward : L. Salisbury (Cleveland Heat Lakers) (32 Points, 6 Rebounds, 11 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 41
Power Forward : A. Czerwonka (brooklyn knicks) (25 Points, 15 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 39
Center : L. Janesch (Eternityz Rostah) (17 Points, 17 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots), A. Silva (Duke Devilz) (25 Points, 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36

MVP of the evening
M. Levickis (Duke Devilz) (35 Points, 4 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 47

The bad performance of the evening
W. Atkinson (AZ Sunburn) (0 Points, 2 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)M. Reardon (Andersonville Alligators) (0 Points, 1 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)L. Rátkai (K8be4L) (3 Points, 1 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)G. Tschudi (Nanooks of the North) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)H. Olivares (Cleveland Heat Lakers) (2 Points, 1 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots)C. Skutt (Duke Devilz) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -2

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : J. Pastorell (Organization XIII), A. Stadnichenko (Nanooks of the North) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : T. Mizoguchi (Eternityz Rostah), T. Dvéri (Andersonville Alligators), K. Telén (Andersonville Alligators), M. Gatard (Nanooks of the North), R. Lian (Duke Devilz) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : M. Parnell (Defenseless Babies) : 43 Minutes

The shooter : M. Thyner (Anchorage Allstars.), H. Lý (K8be4L) : 7 Three points

The best performer : L. Salisbury (Cleveland Heat Lakers) : Rating : 15.0

The worst performer : W. Atkinson (AZ Sunburn), A. Lott (Fondy Cardinals) : Rating : 5.5

Happy Ourer: Let’s go down courtside to Jimmy Buckitts with head coach Pio Reina after a 115-96 defeat.

Jimmy Buckitts: I’m here with Linndale head coach Pio Reina. Coach, how did you view the first quarter?

Pio Reina: We got off to a bit of a funky start, but we did a good job of making the game ugly, relying on our defense, and making them foul. We weren’t trying to outrun them, but we weren’t not trying to either. We knew we were in for a night, but we needed to let them know that they were, too.

JB: The second quarter you got off to a small 7-2 run.

PR: They answered with a 12-2 run before the flagrant foul on their guard.

JB: What was the secret to not letting things get out of control?

PR: We know who we are, so we just had to calm down and do what we’re supposed to do. They beat us on the boards in that first half and we turned the ball over way too much, but I like that our guys did a nice job of hanging around. Gian-Luca was huge with the buzzerbeater at the end of the half.

JB: The third quarter seemed like everything that you had going for you just stopped.

PR: Jimmy, you answer a run with a run. We didn’t do that. They just decided they were done with us. We wanted to keep then under 25 a quarter and not go down by 10. Both of those things happened. They got loose for a few three pointers and we didn’t have the answer I wanted us to have.

JB: The fourth quarter was much of the same. What do you take positive from this game?

PR: I go back to what we stand on. We stand on defense, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, and sharing the basketball. It takes a really good team to prevent us from doing those things. That other team is a really good team. We didn’t back down. We fought. We’ll continue fighting. We just have to get better offensively. We’ll make some adjustments and try it again on Tuesday. We face the Cleveland Heat Lakers in our home opener. Lou Salisbury is a problem. We’ll be ready.

JB: Thanks, Coach. Happy back to you in studio.

HO: Thanks Jimmy. Sam, you came closest to the final score and had the winner. What did you see?

SD: A history of offensive struggles, which we saw. Linndale couldn’t score. They were competitive on the boards, they fought defensively, but they could not score. As long as they could keep it close and ugly, they were fine. Once Eternityz Rostah decided they were done with Linndale, they dispatched them. The team is good enough to compete with D3 teams, but this team is not built to win in D3 just yet. Pio always says the expectation is the playoffs. Maybe for this season, the expectation should be avoid relegation.

JD: Sam, you know them’s fightin’ words! Since when has the team not improved? Since when has the team not addressed weaknesses? At no point has anyone said this team was in it’s final form, and even if it was, this group earned a right to see what they could do here in D3. If GM Roberto Gurgone feels the need to make changes, he will. What he won’t do is tell Pio how to run his shop. What Pio won’t do is tell Roberto how to handle his business. Do they always get along? No. Do they always know where the other is coming from? Yes, and they share the same goal. They want what’s best for Linndale. They will get things together. You just watch!

HO: We’ll be back aftera word from our sponsors...

Day 2 (Tuesday 24 September 2024) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Anchorage Allstars. 88 - Defenseless Babies 106
brooklyn knicks 114 - Fondy Cardinals 96
The Dachshunds 107 - Las Vegas Red Pandas 112
GloryBoyz 141 - AZ Sunburn 132
Eternityz Rostah 106 - Andersonville Alligators 92
K8be4L 105 - Organization XIII 131
Nanooks of the North 135 - Duke Devilz 150
Cleveland Heat Lakers 84 - Linndale 124

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 150 : Duke Devilz
Rebounds : 67 : Organization XIII
Assists : 35 : GloryBoyz, AZ Sunburn
Steals : 12 : Anchorage Allstars., Organization XIII
Block Shots : 11 : Defenseless Babies

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 40 : J. Izatavicius (Nanooks of the North)
Rebounds : 24 : A. Silva (Duke Devilz)
Assists : 14 : M. Levickis (Duke Devilz)
Steals : 4 : P. Vendrell (Linndale)
Block Shots : 5 : M. Parnell (Defenseless Babies)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : M. Levickis (Duke Devilz) (29 Points, 6 Rebounds, 14 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 41
Shooting Guard : J. Izatavicius (Nanooks of the North) (40 Points, 4 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 42
Small Forward : A. Timpanaro (Duke Devilz) (35 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33
Power Forward : B. McAlinden (Las Vegas Red Pandas) (38 Points, 11 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots), J. Pastorell (Organization XIII) (25 Points, 22 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 40
Center : A. Kulacs (AZ Sunburn) (26 Points, 13 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 37

MVP of the evening
J. Izatavicius (Nanooks of the North) (40 Points, 4 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 42

The bad performance of the evening
S. Vujadin (Andersonville Alligators) (1 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -5

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : H. Hilton (Defenseless Babies), G. Cihaner (Las Vegas Red Pandas), W. Lemons (Andersonville Alligators) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : R. Shafer (Defenseless Babies), T. Mizoguchi (Eternityz Rostah), H. Lý (K8be4L), H. Chunda (Nanooks of the North), R. Lian (Duke Devilz), A. Stadnichenko (Nanooks of the North), M. Gatard (Nanooks of the North) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : A. Viktor (GloryBoyz) : 42 Minutes

The shooter : Y. Xiao (GloryBoyz) : 7 Three points

The best performer : A. Smith (Organization XIII) : Rating : 14.5

The worst performer : A. Lott (Fondy Cardinals) : Rating : 5.5

*Editor's note: I meant to post this before today's games, but real llife intervened...

It was Pio Reina’s office, but Byron Helms had the floor.

“You got offense from Gian-Luca while it appears that Corro just had a bad matchup. We simply have to get more from Corro. Let’s move Gian -Luca to the bench and see if he can give the bench a spark with offense and start Vendrell. He’s not quite the offensive player, but he’s better inside defensively. Since we have so many big bodies, start Beko and bring Corro on relief. Ozver and Lecian can play the cup game.”

Pio slowly nodded his head and spoke.

“I agree with Vendrell getting the start. I’m sold on the idea of Lecian going 48. I’m not sold on the idea of Ozver not playing here, and I’m not sold on the idea of Gian-Luca and Corro being separated. Those two complement each other well, where one lacks the other excels. Plus, I think Gian-Luca still thinks of himself as a small forward. I think we should go Ozver and Vendrell and follow that with Gian-Luca and Beko. It leaves Beko and Corro available with Lecian for the cup game, while Vendrell and Gian-Luca should get their minutes in.”

“So we’re just gonna make changes all across the lineup,” asked Marshall. “If you want Ozver and Vendrell, we have to make changes else where. Three ball handlers rule.”

Air Allnite was silent. Until now, anyway. “That’s easy. Move Walt to the second unit and put Midas on the first unit. Problem solved.”

“Where’s the third ball handler on the second unit, Air?” Marshall was enjoying this. “You get Leao. You just put Pasman on. Pio wants Gian-Luca and Beko on. So you get Enfes as your fifth. You only have two.”

Byron usually joined in the fun of picking on Air, but the performance of his bigs annoyed him.

“So play Corro or Lecian and give Gian-Luca some pine time” he bellowed.

“Walt is on the floor with the starting five. We’re not changing that. Carlos, Walt, Bodura, Vendrell and Beko. I’m not breaking the rule. I’ll make sure the entire team knows how I feel about the 15 turnovers and losing the battle on the boards. And Air, we got off 27 three pointers. I don’t want to hear about it for a while. They are not where you think they are from the outside. They need work, but that’s not where our focus is yet. We know the defense and rebounding have to get better. The inside game is our focus. Byron, how long you need before we can get wings and guards rolling?”

Byron took a deep breath and exhaled. “That depends on the players, and if we’re changing the goals. Lecian is gonna need a few weeks at least. I’m going to find a way to get the rookie Carlson in; he has some possibilities worth exploring. Vendrell could use a few weeks, but if I’m right, Marshall has designs on him also. Gian-Luca needs a few weeks before Marshall gets him, and I could see Air wanting him also. Same for Ozver. Beko needs some serious one on one time with Air.”

“Marshall,” Pio asked. Marshall knew what the question was.

“Give me Corro. He’ll be there defensively. Not sure about Vendrell, but wanna find out; his offense will be there. We gotta tighten up some things with Gian-Luca, but he’s already there. Ozver will be there also. Yeah, Pio, we’re almost there.

“Air, you good? My starting backcourt had 6 turnovers.”

“I’ll be good when you get me a real shooting guard,” Air replied. “In the meantime, I’m gonna tear those guys a new one. Bodura too.”

Jimmy Buckitts: I’m here with the Joy Beko and Gian-Luca Twaruschek after tonight’s 124-84 victory
in the season’s home opener. Joy, you and Gian-Luca had big games tonight in very different manners.

Joy Beko: We just went out and did what we had to do. We had different responsibilities in the game plan, but the plan worked.

Gian-Luca Twaruschek: Coach told me when I’m on the second unit, to go out and score. My teammates made it really easy tonight.

Jimmy Buckitts: Joy, you had 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists in 24 minutes. You were also one of three players with 6 assists for Linndale tonight and you two were the leading scorers for Linndale. Did Coach Reina do anything differently for tonight’s game?

Joy Beko: Defensively, we played zone. Coach prefers man, but he is adaptable. We wanted to take away the outside shots and make them go inside. They did a good job of sticking to their guns, but we did a good job cleaning the glass and limiting them to one shot. On offense, coach told us to pound it inside, so that’s what we tried to do.

GLT: Joy kept telling me he had to score a little more just to show he had it in him. We have a loaded front court, so we felt like coach telling us to pound it inside was music to our ears. A lot of our perimeter players like to attack the basket also, so we hope to get to do more of that.

Jimmy Buckitts: How did you slow down Lou Salisbury?

Joy Beko: We didn’t try to, really. We just made it so one person wasn’t responsible. The goal was to shut down everyone else and just not let him go crazy. We’ve got to do a better job defending the three point shot, but we didn’t foul and we had a great night shoot the ball.

Jimmy Buckitts: Gian-Luca, has Coach Reina told you that your role going forward is to be the scorer off the bench? That’s something that Linndale has traditionally been lacking.

GLT: I’m just going to do what coach asks me to do. If he wants me to play small forward, I will. If he wants me to be the scorer off the bench, I will. I know the coaches all want me to improve my all around game. I see the defenders we have, and I know I’ve got a ways to go to get to their level. Challenge accepted, but if coach wants me to score, I’m gonna do that, too.

Jimmy Buckitts: Thanks for the time, gentlemen, and congratulations on the win.

Joy Beko: Thanks, Jimmy.

GLT: Thanks, Jimmy.

Jimmy Buckitts: Back to you, Happy!

Happy Ourer: When we come back from the commercial break, we’ll get Joshua Doe’s reaction after the big win tonight. We’ll be back in 2 minutes and 30 seconds...

Roberto Gurgone: Marshall, before you say a word I want you to read the kid’s file. I know you hate losing a two-way defender, but this was a long term play. Bonus is it frees up Frias, so did you really lose a two way defender?

Marshall Richards: ‘Berto, I know I’m supposed to be mad at you right now. I’m also smart enough to know you’re cooking something, so I’ll allow it.

Air Allnite: So what are we doing in the backcourt? Kops played some point, shooting guard and small forward for us. This kid can’t play all three. You really gonna move Frias to small forward and let Bodura start at the other guard spot? You’re gonna have to do something to make it fit the 3 ball handler rule.

Pio Reina: I’ll have that sorted; don’t worry about it. Roberto, are we going to hold off on that other thing?

RG: We’ll play that one by ear. If needed, we’ll make our move.

PR: Noted. Air, Marshall, be prepared to hit the ground running with the guard boot camp. Byron, how are the bigs coming along?

Byron Helms: They’re putting in the work, but the last couple of weeks have shown few results.
Working them hard to try and push through it. Maybe switch to the guards for a few weeks.

PR: We’ll give them this week and then see how we attack that.

RG: If there’s nothing else for me, I’ll leave you gentlemen to it.

PR: See you after the game. Now on to tonight’s game. I’m giving the keys to Colenbrander. Let’s see what he can do. Ozver and Beko up front, Frias and Pasman round out the starting five. Mashall, we good on the rule of three?

MR: We’re good there. Just a question; why isn’t The Hammer on the second unit?

AA: Who?

MR: Gian-Luca. The Hammer.

BH: That dude is all arm and no hammer. You better get out of here with that name! I’ll tell you what, if you can get his defense and rebounding to where his shooting is, I can buy that as a nickname.

PR: That’s not a big ask, Byron. You going soft?

BH: Nope. I see a move coming, and Marshall won’t be happy about it when it comes. To make it worse, he will have made it happen. Good coaching can’t go unrewarded.

AA: We DO have a game tonight to talk about.

PR: Air’s right. Looking in their backcourt, Ye Kaifang is a solid veteran, but the guy we have to keep in check is Justynas Izatavicius. We’ll see if we can match Pasman up wth him defensively. Up front, Stadnichenko has to be kept in check, but we also have to make sure Mattieu Gatard doesn’t beat us. Our bench should be a difference maker tonight; they don’t have the depth we do. New point guard, so I do expect a few hiccups, but nothing we shouldn’t be able to withstand. If we do what we do, and keep them in check, we should walk out of here with a win. Any questions?

AA: Yeah. Who’s doing the media tonight?

PR: Looks like you just volunteered for the pregame. To be nice, Marshall you do the halftime and postgame hits. One more thing, Air. 14 turnovers a game is something I cannot abide by. I know we’re only two games in, but I want my results. Steals are down and turnovers are up. I expected steals to be down, but turnovers are unsustainable and unacceptable.

AA: Noted.

PR: Marshall, Byron. I want Twaruschek up to speed defensively. He’s closer on inside defense than he is on the perimeter. I need him ready for both. Byron, I imagine the rebounding will be come, but I want that kid ready to go. To that end, plug him the lineup tonight. My prerogative. Let’s see what he can do. I want to know if we can live with his current shortcomings. We should be able to find that out tonight. Ozver gets the next start.

BH: I'll let him know.

PR: I'll do it. I made the call, I can be the one to tell him.