Photo: Of course it went in! This is PFL! (Nov 2013)
Week Thirteen, February 22, 2014
PFL Winter 2014 Season Awards (as voted by the PFL players)
PFL Award: Tim “Chief” Wright (A36)
Most Valuable Player: Erik Morales (NZB)
Most Improved Player: Gordon Vidaver: (CT)
MVP Championship Game: Chris Railey (NZB)
Top Five Team Offensive Players
Erik Morales
David Po
Tim Knauer
David Duane
Tom Hamel
(honorable mention: Andy Lee, Megan Ladd, Bill Carruthers, Mark Pinchook)
Top Five Team Defensive Players
Marty Bitner (unanimous)
Eric Poydar
Barry Lai
Chip Allen
Sandy Kendall
(honorable mention: Chizzy Uchendu, Ranjith Zachariah, Tim Knauer, Gordon Vidaver, Mike Earley)
Skills Challenges results
Skills Course (weave thru cones, driving reverse layup, pass into barrel from 20′, make FT with The Big Ball):
1. Sandy Kendall (SK): :23.29
2. Jeff Smith (CT): :30.19
3. Marty Bitner (WH): :30.23
4. Greg Herr (TC): :49.03
5. Scott Lieber (MT): :49.38
6. Dave Hartung (PW): :54.55
7. Edison Tam (A36): 1:00.00
8. NZB (pass)
Fastest PFL Human Being (6 full court layups; 5 secs added for miss; in parens)
1. Tyler Carruthers (CT): :34.82 (0)
2. Tom Hamel (WH): :35.01 (0)
3. David Po (TC): :35.41 (0)
4. Christian Hartjes (PW): :36.60 (0)
5. JR Morris (A36): :39.56 (1)
6. Paul Curran (MT): :42.42 (1)
7. Ranjith Zacharian (SK): :53.82 (3)
8. NZB (pass)
PFL Three Point Shooting Contest (NBA style, possible 30 pts)
1. David Duane (SK): 10
2. Larry Bavis (WH): 8
3. Dave Hartung (PW): 7
3. Andy Lee (A36): 7
5. Jordan Carroll (CT): 6
6. Chip Allen (TC): 4
6. Mike Cox (MT): 4
6. Richie Snell (NZB): 4
G1: Last in scoring offense but first in scoring defense (least points allowed) Townsville Crocodiles slid into the playoffs a tidy 7-3, but crawled out of the championships swamp 7-6. Still, this was and is a nice bunch. No one averaged more than 7.1 ppg; I’m thinking that’s balance and requires a team to figure out ways to score if they don’t have a go-to player. Yet they won more than half their games and seemed to have a good time doing it. A highlight? Chip Allen’s buzzer beating three to send them to overtime. I think Adelaide 36ers got better and better as the season wore on. I think they have the greatest number of players who are better basketball players after having played these 13 games then any other team in the league. First in steals but last in rebounds they made up for lack of overall size with a strategy of pressuring the ball and running. Smart moves that paid more and more dividends as the season progressed. They have asked to keep the crew together next season but with one wrinkle: they are going Twin Towers with Chief’s 6’5″ brother, Peter. They will not be pushed around!
Game One /Adelaide 36ers (4-6; 1-2) 29 – Townsville Crocodiles (7-3; 0-3) 27
(Absent players: A36: Alan Tam; TC: Marc Davenport, Steven Friedman, Megan Ladd, Chizzy Uchendu)
G2: Melbourne Tigers were the leagues top rebounding team but had the poorest free throw percentage defense. I know, I know. Whatever. They were a squad with a bevy, a veritable plethora of scoring options. How do you guard them seemed to be the question opposing teams asked. Seeded #2 they finished the 5th Place Champions. Halawa was a star. Evan “The Pope” Pepe made dazzling passes. I think Scott Lieber will double his average next season; here he wasn’t called on to score like he can. Meanwhile, the Sydney Kings were regal all season long. #1 seed they settled into 6th place, cozy spot. Sandy Kendall – Skills Course Champ – asked if they can use the Big Ball next season. What? Tim “Star Power” Knauer was runner-up by one vote for MVP. David Duane had his best PFL season. They were great.
Game Two /Melbourne Tigers (7-3;2-1) 67 – Sydney Kings (8-2; 1-2) 32
(Out and about: MT: Lida Mullendore; SK: Tim Knauer, Keith Reitman, Barath Sankaran)
G3: Can we just stop a moment to praise Marty Bitner. Okay. We’re done with that. Okay, okay. It has to be mentioned (as we did last Saturday) that every single voter named him to the Top Defensive Team. Why? Duh. He blocked more shots by his lonesome than any other TEAM in the league. (What’s he like at home?) Awesome. But they won a game, first time in PFL history, when only 4 players showed up and none of them was named Marty! 3rd place for them. The Perth Wildcats suffered more by poor attendance than any team in the league. But they made a late run and were a made shot here and there, a healthy calf for Mark Pinchook; a Derek “Pearl” Bogarty walking through that door away from a slot in the Championship game. Watch Siobhan Kelley shoot a free throw sometime and go home, stand in front of a mirror and work on copying that form.
Game Three Wollongong Hawks (4-6; 2-1) 53 – Perth Wildcats (1-9; 1-2) 29
(Players missing: WH: Lucas Bilbro, Josh Kratka, Cameron LaHart, Nat Rink; PW: Derek “Pearl” Bogarty, Eddie “EJ” Jameson, Mark Pinchook)
G4: It was defensive struggle, wasn’t it? 6 points in the 2nd half for Cairns? I guess so. After Jordan Carroll got hot hitting 3s early, the Breakers clamped down on him and the Carruthers guys couldn’t get a sniff and neither could Jeff Smith. Points were tough to come by. Mike Earley deserves mention for playing smart, strong defense for CT. For the Breakers, JJ had his most active and impressive game while many of the usual scorers had trouble having FG made come close to FG attempted. Erik Morales, season MVP, was solid, but Chris Railey who walked away (floated away?) with the championship game MVP trophy played a near flawless game. They wouldn’t have won without him. Fun game to watch.
Game Four /New Zealand Breakers (5-5; 3-0) 30 – /Cairns Taipans (4-6; 2-1) 27
(Not playing: NZB: Mike Brown, Dave Kellehr; CT: Matt Siebler)
