7.24.1998

Game 1. 5 on 5

Mario, Luong, Michael, "Father", Bill versus Chris, I, Lei, John, Steve

The game was at first not going to be a good one because an inexperienced Chinese guy was going to guard me...until Michael came.

Mario on Chris. Luong on I. Michael on Lei. "Father" on John. Bill on Steve. Vice versa defense.

The game was pretty good. Luong and I really worked on each other. I couldn't get the ball nor could really drive when I had it because Luong was just too good on defense. Luong was able shoot 2 3 pointers though. Chris was our main scorer. Lei also made many drives. I slipped during a drive, scratching my right hand and right knee. I wasn't playing very well because Luong really restricted what I could do. I made a bad pass which went to Michael. Michael and John both wore white shirts and purple shorts. My team played hard but they just had too much talent.

Game 2. 5 on 5 12-3

Mario, Luong, Michael, "Father", Bill versus Chi, I, "Redhead", and 2 fat guys

Defense wasn't serious at all. Not worth mentioning.

This game was much of a blowout as expected. We just wanted to get "Redhead" and his friends off the court because they just weren't good at all, making countless turnovers. They forced the shot so many times, shooting the top of the backboard when shooting 3 pointers, or even missing the whole basket area entirely. "Redhead" talked lots of trash but couldn't back it up. He scored maybe one point. Chi scored the most, but Chi and I just wanted to get the game over with. I played because I wanted to stay active.

Game 3. 5 on 5 14-16

Mario, Luong, Michael, "Father", Bill versus Chi, Chris, I, John, Steve

Lee seemed to have jammed a finger so Chi took his place...otherwise there might have been some difficulties on deciding who would sit out because Chi deserved to play since we stuck him with a bad team for Game 2.

Mario on Chris. Luong on Steve. Michael on Chi. "Father" on John. Bill on I.

Vice versa except I still guarded Luong and Steve guarded Bill.

The game was very close. Michael actually played defense. I took advantage of the mismatch. Luong guarded Steve because Steve was pulling in too many rebounds during Game 1. Bill was quite tired already and I was much too fast for him. I had about 2 fast break lay-up points, one drive then jumper in the box, and 2 three pointers, including the game winner which was a luck shot against the backboard. But then again, I missed maybe 2 or 3 3 pointer.

Game 4. 5 on 5 16-15

Mario, Luong, Michael, "Father", some quite short Asian guy versus Chi, Chris, I, John, Steve

Mario, Luong, and Michael discussed on a bench what went wrong on Game 3. Bill was unable to guard me. He even made a comment that I was like Samson from the bible, getting energy from having long hair. Because I did too much in Game 3, Luong decided he was going to guard me. Doing so would allow Steve to grab many rebounds, but that was a necessary sacrifice. "Redhead" and one of the fat boys wanted to play next but Mario's team was too hyped up for the rematch so we went straight to rematch without consulting "Redhead." A game with him would surely be a sorry one. They left during the game.

Mario on Chris. Luong on I. Michael on Chi. "Father" on John. new guy on Steve. Vice versa.

This game was the most intense and the score was pretty close although my team led 8-4 at the beginning, before Mario's team began a barrage of 3 pointers.. Luong and I really shut each other out. The best I could do offensively was to drag Luong away from Chris and other teammates. Luong scored a lay-up and a 3 pointer. He scored 3. I grabbed an offensive board after Steve missed and shot it in. When Mario told Luong to pull back from the 3 point line at one point of time, Chris threw me the ball because I was open and shot a 3 pointer. I scored 3. At one point Chris wanted a screen from me but I refused to give it because Luong and Mario are too smart defensively for the screen to work. Chi really hit some big shots during the game. During one shot, Chi could have picked up the ball and then shoot it but he dribbled a little bit outward and then turned around and swished it. He has to make it difficult... However, Mario shot and made at least 3 3 pointers, not missing many shots. Mario really stepped up with his shooting. Chris couldn't guard him that well because he kept on helping Chi with Michael. Chris and I wanted to set up a play for John to shoot a 3 but John kept looking the other way. I could have also initiated a fast break but that didn't happen for the same reason. When John actually had the ball, he hadn't the confidence and just passed it to someone else. At the end, Michael shot a 3 pointer during a fast break. I couldn't reach him in time and he shot it quite in the open.

Notes.

Game 3 and 4 were the most intense games and they were really good because the teams were very balanced. Mario's team had 3 really good players but the other 2 weren't that good (Bill was just too tired though). My team had John and Steve who took advantage of the mismatches. They grabbed so many rebounds. John had many lay-ups and Steve made many inside shots. Game 3 and 4 could have gone anyway and anyone could win. If Steve had a higher inside shooting percentage and if John stepped up we could have done better, although they did very well. In these games excluding Game 2 everyone played defense. Luong and I usually prevented each other from doing anything. Also, Luong just couldn't shoot today. Michael was very well contained and didn't get the easy lay-ups that he usually was able to get. We stopped him cold at the baseline with Chi and Chris. "Father" and the 5th man on Mario's team didn't and couldn't do anything offensive. "Father" during Game 1 and 3 pulled some rebounds though. Team defense made the game really good, mainly Mario, Luong, and Michael versus Chris, Chi, and I. The games were so good because although Mario's team had really great players, they were handicapped. If a player like Sinh came today, that whole balance would have been ruined.