đ Game of the Night: Wellington 96 â Wasco 95 đđ
The top seed in the Great 8 is gone and everyoneâs bracket has busted. It took every tick, every rebound, and every whistle to get there. Letâs go:
The biggest lead of the game was held for only a momentâhalfway through the third. A minute and a half later, the lead was down to 4 and the lead never stretched further. Pure theatre.
Pisano (22/14/4) kept bullying in the post, hitting soft hooks and drawing fouls, while Longino (22/10) responded with bruising finishes at the rim. Both teams went punch-for-punch, neither breaking.
Bunn was the difference-maker in the 4th: he caught fire late, dropping two clutch triples in the fourth that stopped Wasco runs cold. How do you solve a problem like Bunn? Foul him on his next three. But Bunn ainât Shaq: he sunk all three free throws. What Bunn lacked in efficiency (10-35 from the field) he made up for in heart as Wellington let him cook.
Wasco found a way to make the closing minutes Bunn-free, but it came at a cost. Tied at 91, the flurry began when Abrahamsohn dropped the hammer to give Wellington the lead, 93-91. Miner pushed it down court, not wasting any time feeding AscensĂŁo for a mid-range bank shot that would make Timmy D. proud. Cisneros ran it back, forced his response, and drilled the jumper in Sorensenâs face. 6 points in 19 seconds of play, 95-93, everyone in Thiessen Arena held their breath.
Wasco drew up the perfect play out of a dead ball, inbounded the ball with 29 seconds left. Sorensen came off the screen, Davis found him in rhythm and Sorensen caught nothing but net as Thiessen Arena explodedâtie game, 95-95. The celebration didnât last long.
The Warthogs lived up to their name: Bunn chucked a three with 9 seconds left: BRICK. Wellyâs ApatiÄ grabbed the long rebound, dished to Abrahamsohn for the point-blank winning shot: BRICK. Wong Wart-hogged yet another offensive board, attempting the putback on Abrahamsohnâs missâŚand the zebras had enough: Pisano was whistled for the foul. Like several games this season, this one ended with free throws after the buzzer. Not a good look for the league, but you can be sure someone made it big in Vegas.
đ Meridian Hill 73 â Wobbles 86
Meridian swung early but faded hard. Nash and Curley kept it close, but Anguera (31 pts) lit the fuse and Samara buried triples down the stretch. Wobbles turned a halftime grind into a 2nd-half surge, winning the boards 55â45 and leveraging their home-court advantage to lock in the W.
đ Delta 115 â Kiwi 85 đ
Delta dominated from wire to wire, winning every quarter and crushing the glass 60â43. Shelley (29/16) and incredible bench play from McNally (26 pts) and Porter (16). Kiwiâs Rae and Gaffney tried (35 pts combined), but the Sheep shot a miserable 18% from deep as Guaraes melted under the pressure. Kiwi never sniffed a comeback. Delta Rolled.
đ The Reductions 67 â Innovatus 98
Innovatus clamped down early and never let up. Zigui (24 pts) and Thomas (18/13) owned the paint, Ikoma (16/7) ran the show, and the Reductions looked like a team that liquidated their best talent at the end of the season.
đŽ What It Means
The Conference Finals are set: Wobbles vs. Innovatus in the Big 8, Delta 9 vs. Wellington in the Great 8. Wobbles bring depth and shooting, but Innovatusâ interior duo is peaking at the right time. Delta look like juggernauts, yet Wellington just toppled Wasco in a thrillerâŚdo they have enough left to do it again?
Two Conference Finals games, four hungry squadsâArbyâs has the meats, weâve got the drama.