TDL Fall 2016 Semifinals Playoff Preview (D3 Sun)

(1) STREET DREAMS vs (4) JAPAN UNITED

Semifinals – Sunday (11/13) 2:30pm at MLK HS

Team Notes Team Score Team Team Notes
Street Dreams has been the most consistently good team all season and they are red hot right now. They even won their inter-divisional game playing vs D2. (G) Miguel Melbourne leads the way with an MVP caliber season, but this is a team with plenty of veteran players who know what it takes to win.
STR
5-1

59-55


JPU
2-4
Japan United‘s Top 5 players are as good as any in D3. They blew out STR in the reg. season. (G) Ryota Takahashi & (G) Osamu Tanigawa are the pace setters, they’re the fastest back court in D3. (F) Daniel Mosley & (F) Marc Lashly set the tone in the paint. When they get hot, they can beat anyone.
Key Player: Miguel Melbourne


Melbourne’s been the best player in D3 this season, able to affect the game in very facet, and take over at any moment to help lift his team to a win. STR’s success has been thanks to play big in big moments.

X-Factor: Neil Dumadag


Dumadag is one of D3’s top defenders and hustle players, but when he gets shot going, STR is a very difficult team to stop. His ability as a secondary scorer makes it tough to double Melbourne.

Pos: G
23.4 ppg
7.8 rpg
3.6 apg


Pos: F
14 ppg
7.3 rpg
1.3 bpg


Pos: F
18.2 ppg
12 rpg
2.2 apg

Pos: G
17.6 ppg
6.6 rpg
2.8 apg

Key Player: Daniel Mosley


If Tanigawa and Takahashi are the pacesetters, Mosley is their anchor. He does the dirty work, scores in the paint and rebounds. The trick is how quickly he can get in rhythm. ‘Cause when he is, he can score a ton.

X-Factor: Ryota Takahashi


JPU scores a lot of points (often at the sacrifice of defense), and a big reason for that is Takahashi’s speed and aggressiveness in the open court. When he is hitting his shots, JPU can hit you from all angles.

(2) SPAGHETTI RAMEN vs (3) THE PANDAS

Semifinals – Sunday (11/13) 5:30pm at MLK HS

Team Notes Team Score Team Team Notes
Spaghetti Ramen are the three-time defending champs for a reason. They play hard and play smart, going all out on defense and letting (G) Leuis Ng run the show. They’re missing dominant defender (F) Mark Hahn but have more offense this season with (G) John Lee and (F) Teddy Lo expanding his game.
SPR
4-2

61-57


PAN
2-4
The Pandas are a real threat to upset SPR because of match-ups. But the trick is offense. (G) Eddie Tsao is maybe the most aggressive offensive player in D3, and (F) Leo Fu and rookie (G) Zhongzheng Hao have given solid supplementary scoring, but this is mostly in transition. In half-court , they tend to get stagnant.
Key Player: Leuis Ng


As good as Melbourne has been this season, Ng has been that good for pretty much every season. Thus his multiple MVP awards. At this point, if you don’t already know what he brings, it’s your fault.

X-Factor: John Lee


Lee is a tricky kind of player, he is a solid defender and can fill in as a game manager, but every now and then he’ll catch fire and make a lot of shots. You just never know when it’s gonna hit.

Pos: G
21.7 ppg
8 rpg
5 apg


Pos: G
12.5 ppg
4.5 rpg
4.5 apg


Pos: F
15 ppg
3 apg
3 spg

Pos: G
18 ppg
7 rpg
5 apg

Key Player: Ben Wang


Wang is the most versatile player, and maybe best defender, in D3. He is a great passer, though he tends to hold the ball too long in the half-court. Still, he runs the show, this team goes as far as he takes them.

X-Factor: Eddie Tsao


Tsao is fast and has great offensive skills, but his shot selection can be questionable, and sometimes shots just aren’t going in. But he is always a threat for a big scoring day if teams don’t get back on D.