Recap
Could quarterfinal game 2 live up to the excitement and skill of the first game? Many Grinders fans on hand were cheering for Cinderella, for the upset, for Worm”s “Victory” GIF in the Signal chat, for the 6-seed to overcome all obstacles and shock the Grinders world…………for Ford????????
As things started, it appeared that the Grinders world was going to get their wish. The Eskimo Bros. came out hot and pounded the rock down low as Ford started to go to work on the smaller Long Con defenders. Mike “Mr. Steal your Ball” Boccio and Pauly “CHS” P. dominated the offensive boards (11 total rebounds each), getting the Bros. extra possessions with which they cashed in. The duo also finished with 18 points combined on 9/24 shooting.
The Long Con struggled to find the basket early. Captain E. and league villain Cole were off the mark early. Jimmy “MVP” Zietz again carried the offensive load, weaving through the Eskimo defense.
As the first half came to a close, Mike “I”m Better than You” Ford had a wide open layup behind the Con defense. As he went up uncontested, the unthinkable happened……he blew it, and a chance to widen the lead before the break (up 7). Ford came up limp and was rendered ineffective for the rest of the game. Speaking of ineffective, Joe “Bully Ball” Marie was exactly that. He went 1/16 for the game and was noticeably frustrated by the misses.
In the second half, the Long Con started chipping away at the lead. Captain E found his stroke (12 points) as did Jon (2/5/2) and Helmet (4/2, 2 blocks?). Helmet and Jon were able to stifle the offensive rebounding of the Bros., limiting them to “one and done” in the second half. Speaking of done, Captain Worm had to go the bench with an apparent arm injury. He attempted to re-enter later in the half, but couldn”t give it a go. Between the injuries and some late buckets by Chris “Coattails” Cole, the Long Con was able to take the lead and never look back.
Winners:
Captain E: takes his team to the semis
Jimmy: continues to validate MVP award
Immediate Care: co-pays from Ford/Worm
Losers:
Joe Marie: 1/16…..ouch
Ford/Worm: injuries effect performance
What’s Next? Long Con: a date with Richie in the semis
Eskimo Bros: sharing dudes instead of “women” while waiting for the mini-session
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