3RD DIVISION SUNDAYS – WESTERN CONFERENCE

1) FORMOSA WARRIORS (3-0)

SCOUTING REPORT: FOR (F) Henry Lin and (C) Gary Chen are dominating again so that means the Warriors are back on top of the D3 Power Rankings. The guards don’t put up gaudy numbers, but it’s this team’s balanced offense (and defense) that makes them so formidable.

2) FLAT EARTHERS (2-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: FLA don’t put up crazy offensive numbers, but they have found ways to win with their usual hard-nosed approach. (G) Jonathan Lee has emerged as a viable scoring option and new addition (F) Young Song Kwon is dominating the the glass. This is a tough, physical contender.

3) 50 SHADES OF KLAY (3-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: 50S (G) Teddy Xiong is proving to be a reliable scorer for the Klays and (F) Mario Del Cueto is back at full strength, bringing his versatile game. Their top 5 players are as good if not better than any in D3. They have the deepest back court in the division. 

4) OMB (3-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: This veteran roster is a perennial contender, but they’re dealing with some injuries and spotty attendance this season. And they’re still 3-1. OMB just have to figure out who they want to add to the permanent roster this season. (F) David Hsiung will lead the way as usual. 

5) TWO BRIDGES (1-1): Newbies TWO will face some challenges, but they got some talent here.

6) TEAM SKY (0-3): Two different teams combined may require some time to build chemistry.

7) SPAGHETTI RAMEN (0-3): With key players out this fall, will this dynastic team have enough?

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3RD DIVISION SUNDAYS – EASTERN CONFERENCE

1) NO FLY ZONE OG (2-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: After a last second loss to JPU in their opener, the Flyers have scored 77 ppg in two consecutive wins. The addition of (F) Danny Lee has been a revelation. His all-around offensive game and high ball IQ make him a perfect fit for an NFZ team trying to get back to the chip.

2) TAP NY (2-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: No surprise, TAP was a dark horse last season with (G) Will Chu earning MOP honors. Now, with (F) Kyle Wilson and (F) Kenny Liu increasing their output, Chu isn’t shooting as much and playing more efficiently than even last season. TAP looks to contend this fall.

3) JAMES ZHU & FRIENDS (2-2)

SCOUTING REPORT: The ZHU is finally starting to look like a team commensurate with the talent on their roster. (G) Derrick Shich and (F) Enoch Han are candidates for the All-TDL team every season. Now with (G) James Zhu and role players picking up their play, they can make some noise.

4) GOON SQUAD (1-2)

SCOUTING REPORT: We’re not quite convinced the Goons should be here yet, but they do have D3’s #2 scorer in (G/F) Kory Yeh, and his ability to put up points gives them a chance in any game. Yeh is the only player this season to have scored 40 pts in one game, across all divisions.

5) JAPAN UNITED (1-2): JPU (F) Marc Lashly dominated in their one win. They need him back.

6) BALL IS LIFE (1-2): They have a win over ZHU, which is very solid. (G) Jason Sun is balling out.

7) THE WILDCARDS (1-2): WIL (F) Akeil Cange is a monster. Can he lift WIL out of the cellar?

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

1) NYC GRITTY COMMITTEE (4-0)

SCOUTING REPORT: It’s not clear exactly who is on this roster yet, but taking the players that have logged multiple games played thus far, it’s a pretty stacked roster. New addition (G) David Chu brings a deep threat they’ve never had, and (G) Peter Moon is an active young player who can score and defend. (F) Jae Park has also made an instant impact since joining the team.

2) PNEST1 (3-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: Two seasons ago, PS1 was one of the surprise teams in the league with their scrappy play. Now that they’ve added a bona fide top end scorer in (G) Vegas Dave Wong and another gritty two-way player in (F) Kenny Liu, Pnest1 is a new powerhouse. Veteran (G) Peter Mei is still the motor that keeps this gravy train running. Expect PS1 to  contend for the title.

3) OMB (2-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: Veteran (G/F) David Hsiung has long been one of D3’s most prolific scorers, particularly for this franchise in the Sunday league. Now, OMB is making their first foray into weeknights, and Hsiung’s had one of his best seasons thus far. It should be no surprise that their only loss was the one game he missed. (F) Ned Babbit has been a solid addition thus far as well.

4) 30-FOR-30 (2-2)

SCOUTING REPORT: Somehow multi-time MVP candidate (C) Ezekiel Shin hasn’t been nearly as dominant this season as in the past. We’re not sure why just yet, but 30F is also struggling on offense despite captain (G) Rob Lee having his best season scoring-wise with a team-high 16.3 ppg. Other than that, the roster is pretty much the same, they should be able to turn this around.

5) Missandei’s Melons (2-2)
6) Klaytheists (1-2)
7) Yieldmo (1-2)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1) SMASH N BOUNCE (3-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: With key players out this season, the former contenders asked to move into the Eastern Conference, which they are now perhaps not surprisingly on top of now. And suddenly, (F) Eric Chang, one of Smash’s players that was supposed to be out this season has already made a dominant cameo. If Chang stays on, SNB will obviously dominate this conference. 

2) BULLETPROOF TIGERS (2-1)

SCOUTING REPORT: The Tigers are a vintage team from the FBNYC era, returning to league play with some new faces. (G) Josh Krisnky has been a solid scoring threat for BPT so far this season with 17 ppg, good enough for Top 10 in the division. With so many rookies on the roster, it’s hard to say where they’ll end up, but this is a decent start. Also, Shawn Fury can’t be a real name.

3) FREE AGENTS (2-2)

SCOUTING REPORT: Also a solid start for FAS, they’ve done a good job of pulling in two solid wins so far given the circumstances of a new team, but scoring is not the team’s strength. What they have is probably enough to make the playoffs in the East, but to really challenge for the title, someone else will have to step as a secondary scorer behind (G/F) Gary Etienne, Jr.‘s 15.8 ppg. 

4) INFERNO (1-2)

SCOUTING REPORT: Inferno picked up a much-needed win over NFZ last week to stay in the mix. Prior to that, (G) James Merkin had been playing his best basketball since entering TDL, averaging a team-high 21 ppg, good enough for  #3 in the league, but it hadn’t translated into wins. INF has plenty of firepower this season, now they have to figure out the defensive side of the ball.

5) No Fly Zone Ultra (1-3)
6) Three 6 Latvia (1-3)
7) We Thought We Were Up (0-3)