(2) LACE’O MY ASO

VS

(4) YUNG NO FLY ZONE

In a rematch of the last D1 Sunday final in the SPR ’17 season, LMA looks to replicate a dominant win over NFZ with aggressive perimeter defense and a similarly attacking offense. LMA’s strength can often be NFZ’s weakness. Their ability to pressure guards players defensively with (G) Chung Lee, (G) Mat Joshy and (F) Matt Birtwell can frustrate a Flyers team that likes to operate with space. On offense, LMA bigs (F) Mark Promax and (F) Kyle Jose are versatile, stretch players who can make NFZ’s often slow-footed defense pay from behind the 3-point arc. As match-ups go, this is a pretty favorable one for Lace’O.

NFZ could hardly have forgotten how they were humiliated in their last finals match-up vs LMA. But this is a Flyers team sorting out new personnel. Half their back court is gone, and though (G) Alex Tsay is a strong pick-up, he has been mostly sidelined with injuries. New add (F) Kieran Brennan has fit right in. He has helped to diversify NFZ’s offense. The Flyers can score, but their defense has been a slow starter, which has made every game a struggle. At full strength, NFZ has just as much depth as LMA, and more overall size, if not quite the speed. If they can dictate the tempo and control the ball, they can win this game.

Birtwell is as tenacious as they come, and his defense and hustle is a catalyst for everything LMA does. His effort on that end can sometimes mean his jumper can get streaky, but he’ll keep attacking the basket as relentlessly as he does on D, keeping the pressure on opposing defenses.

With more balanced scoring this season, Reding hasn’t had to carry so much of the offensive load. Which is good for the Flyers, because he’s also the team’s most versatile defender, often has to defend the opposing team’s best offensive player. He’ll be put to the test here on both sides of the ball.

(1) TAIWAN NO. 1

VS

(4) RISE AGAIN

Out of nowhere, Taiwan No. 1 has lived up to their moniker all season. They have simply found ways to win, and it’s not always pretty. But it’s the semifinals now, and every team left is a contender, and they’re now facing, as a newbie team, the most storied franchise in D3. They will come in with D3’s most balanced scoring attack. Nine players score between 4.8 to 8.7 ppg. And any one of them can get hot, as (G) Tim Yu did for 21 pts in the 1st rd. 

It’s always the same story with Rise Again. In many ways, they’re the most predictable team in the league. They come at you with the same guys, same strategy, season after season. And yet, you can’t really stop them. And this isn’t a team that overwhelms their opponents on either side of the ball. They can do that if they get hot from three. But typically, they just dissect you piece by piece until you don’t even realize it’s all over and they’ve won it.

Lin is TW1’s most versatile player. He’s a big, physical forward who can handle the rock, find the open man, and shoot. With a roster full of attacking guards, he is often the point forward, setting up the offense. TW1 is a big team for D3, and Lin’s all-around skills make them seem even bigger.

What else is there to write? Multi-time reg season MVPs, championship MVPs, Ng does it all. Inside, outside, off the dribble, on the break, he dictates everything for RIS. Ng is the one guy you have to stop on this team, and if you have a strategy to do it, you’d be the first.

(1) NY ROCKITS

VS

(5) WOLVERINES

Speed, speed & more speed. The Rockits come at you in waves, overwhelming you with guard after guard attacking, creating, and making layups or 3FGs. Every player on this roster is looking to make the extra pass, or the opportunistic defensive play. But TOs can be an issue. The Rockits have to make sure, especially against a bigger WOL team, that if the shots aren’t falling, they control the ball. Playoff games run much tighter, less margin for error.

More than anything, the Wolverines MUST dictate the pace in this game. The Rockits are younger and much faster overall. Which to the Wolverines possible advantage, also means ROC tends to play fast and loose with the ball. WOL cannot afford to do the same. If they control tempo, control the ball, keep their composure, and finish in the paint–all big IFs–they can steal this from a less experienced, smaller Rockits team by overwhelming them physically.

The veteran Yu is the Rockit’s most senior player, and he orchestrates much of theor offense. He has shot well from the 3-pt line (38%) this season, but not so much from the FT line (39%). But with plenty of ROC players who can get to the stripe, the pressure isn’t on Yu to make many.

Liveris and (C) Mike Meng can put together a solid two-man game against a zone D, but they have to be patient and let it develop. If ROC goes man, both players must punish them in the paint and finish layups. Missed layups give ROC a chance to beat WOL back in transition.

(2) LET IT FLY

VS

(3) NO FLY ZONE OG

Let It Fly looked like the shoe-in #1 seed until a surprising loss to RIS exposed some of their weaknesses. But they didn’t have (C) Ola Oni in that game, and against a short-handed NFZ in the reg season, he simply man-handled the opposition. This is a very athletic team for this division, which gives them extra chances via the offensive glass and opportunistic defense, but the key for LIF, still very much a contender, will be execution down the stretch and finishing strong whether they have the lead or not.

No Fly Zone won the D3 title in the spring, and looked poised to repeat in the summer until they somehow forfeited their semifinal game to the eventual champions. They were bodied in the paint in their reg season match-up, but that was without (F) Saleem Ahmed, arguably the league’s best shot blocker. His length will be key to patch up a weak interior defense with (C) Kevin Wong failing to qualify for the post-season. On offense, they have reliable veteran options in (F) Young Wang and (G) Ren Hsieh.

Mosley was not available in LIF’s 1st rd win over BIL, which is a testament to the Flyers depth, but Mosley is their best option on the offensive end. Undersized, but crafty and physical in the paint, Mosley is a problem from point blank range to 15′ vs NFZ’s less physical lineup.

The veteran paint protector is a stretch 4-5 on offense, and he’s about as streaky as they come in D3. In the 1st rd, he gave JPU a taste of what i’s like when he gets hot. His 6 1st half 3FGs set the tone in a blowout win. LIF cannot afford to let Ahmed get hot in the early going here.

(2) RAINING ROSEBUDS

VS

(3) BOMB SQUAD

The Rosebuds have been holding strong as a contender all season, losing only to top seed ROC. They have a far more focused attack on offense this fall, led by speedy (G) Anthony Williams, and solid all-around play from up and down the roster. New adds have had a huge part. (G) Caleb Lui is as good a defender and set up man as you can find in D2, and (F) Burke Wise has low key been maybe the best big man in D2 this season. It’s their opponent, however, that has been where they’d like to be. BOM is an experienced former champ that will test everything RAR has.

They’ve been uneven this fall, but Bomb Squad is still a veteran roster with a deeper guard rotation than they’ve ever had. (G) James Han proved that point with 22 pts in BOM’s 1st rd win over NFZ. If the 3FGs are falling–and they will take a lot of them– this suddenly becomes a very difficult team to beat. But it all starts with the match-up problems (F) Sherwin Salar is able to force in and around the paint. Without this balance, BOM becomes far easier to defend. And though their defense is solid, it has shown some holes this season, particularly with an injured (G) Alex Tsay.

Even in his 30s now, Williams is the fastest guard in D2. His shot selection can be a bit questionable at times, perhaps taking more deep 3FGs than preferred by his team, but when he gets it going he is capable of carrying the RAR offense. And his speed in the passing lane leads to easy FGs.

RAR doesn’t have the strongest interior D, so Salar should get plenty of opportunities. But BOM asks a lot of Salar as their only big man, undersized as he is already. So if he has the legs to score, BOM can thrive, but they can count on him to contribute across the board regardless.