War Dog narrowly survives late game rally from Ventures

New York, NY — As expected, Financial Ventures opened the game in their pressure 2-3 zone, but there was a difference in tone than in their semifinal win over NFZ. Whereas the pressure D seemed to make the younger NFZ players tight, missing open looks, forcing passes they wouldn’t usually make, SK War Dog showed no such hesitation. This was a veteran that embraced the opportunity to play against a zone.

SKW (G) Kash Miah was tuned in right away as his early aggression from the perimeter helped to open up the War Dog offense and spread the FVG defense thin. It was only gritty, physical play that kept SKW within reach for Ventures. (F) Kev Chang had scored only 6 pts in the 1st half, (G) Jason Chin had only two.

Throughout the 3rd quarter, War Dog continued to extend its lead and looked ready to put this one away, particularly with (G) Pat Youreneff ably setting the table, and controlling the tempo. Ventures was forced to come out of its zone. Which gave its defense some signs of life.

In the 4th qtr, FVG (F) Stanley Paul started heating up as the SKW defense began to tire. Chang also managed to finagle some tough conversions in the paint, but War Dog pushed the lead back up to double-digit mark with key baskets from Miah and (G) “Vegas” Dave Wong who found the range with his trademark bank 3FGs off the wing. SKW (F) Ted Hao also provided great weak side defense to limit FVG opportunities in the paint.

This should have been an easy finish for War Dog except that late in the game, they saw typically strong FT shooters miss, and usually sure-handed veterans commit puzzling TOs. To make matters worse, Miah injured his knee on a non-contact play and had to sit out during crunch time.

Youreneff was left as the de facto closer. He shot 88% from the FT line this season, 92% last season while leading the league both seasons in attempts. But he missed 3 in the final minute, and that allowed FVG’s Chang to make it suddenly very interesting with a flurry of 3FGs. A double-digit lead was whittled down to a single possession.

But eventually, SK War Dog got the stops they needed as FVG missed on great opportunities to further extend the game. Youreneff’s rebounding during this stretch, (he finished with a game-high 10 reb), helped War Dog survive Ventures’ late rally, one with perhaps more second chances than SKW should have ever allowed.

SKW will field a similar lineup with a love for hoisting 3FGs, but they won’t be able to go into the post as regularly as they did vs NFZ. In this game, the guards will need to step up and knock down a few shots to open things up. Ventures still has more depth in the bigs dept. If (C) Jiang Yu can occupy one of SKW’s bigger forwards, (C) Rich Chang will see some mismatches.

51-54

Like FVG, their win was less than convincing, but this deep into the playoffs, you do whatever you can to win. FVG’s pressure 2-3 D was effective vs NFZ due to their lack of a consistent mid-range option, but SKW doesn’t have  one either. What they do have is better slashers in (G) Pat Youreneff & (G) David Wong that means better transition offense too. If FVG can’t contain SKW’s counter attack, it will be a long night.

The other reason FVG survived just 6 ppg from Chang? Jason Chin. His clutch shooting, best exemplified by the game-winner in OT on Sunday, has been the difference offensively for FVG, a team that hasn’t found a lot other options so far. They’ll need another good one from Chin tonight whether anyone finds the stroke or not. FVG’s anemic offense can least afford Chin going cold.

Theoretically you would never play a zone against a team with a shooter like (G) Kash Miah. No player in D1 gets hotter faster than Miah. And he is savvy enough to manufacture ways of scoring and getting it going. FVG’s length and speed on the edges is what makes their 2-3 tough against shooters. So, Miah will have to get as creative as ever to get clean looks in this one.

RECAP: In the playoffs, it’s not how you win, just that you win. And SK War Dog proved that on Sunday with just about the ugliest playoff victory we’ve ever seen, just a shade worse than Shawty Likes the Way’s playoff win to get to the semifinal game. The game was chippy early on and never got any nicer.

The physical play and general lack of composure made for a lot of missed shots. SKW shot a dismal .250 from the field, but that was the better effort of the day compared to SHA’s .234. These are two teams with plenty of offensive firepower, but it was not present on this day. But what SKW showed, was they can win a grind, even if they’re scorers are not performing at peak level. Which they will need in what will surely be a brutal grind of a title game vs Financial Ventures. 

RECAP: On a day full of ugly semifinal games, the last game on the schedule was no different. Financial Ventures held Yung No Fly Zone to just 2 pts in the 1st qtr. NFZ got within 22-18 at the half, but FVG had firmly dictated the pace and tone of the game, and they would for the duration. NFZ never got into rhythm against FVG’s attacking zone D, and league scoring champion (F) Mike Reding had just 9 pts on 3-18 FGs.

But despite that, NFZ held leads late in the game by playing great defense. Only to see those leads squandered with missed FTs. NFZ made just 1-8 FTs in the 4th qtr and OT. Two misses that would have put NFZ up 4 with seconds left. Instead, leading only 41-39, (G) Jason Chin, who had carried FVG all game with his 3-pt shooting, got free on FVG’s final shot and knocked down a game-winning 3 plus the foul to go up two points with :08 secs  left. NFZ’s tying attempt did not fall.

62-58

He is their best scorer, often times their best play-maker, and their best rebounder. Everything starts with what Reding brings to the table for NFZ, but it can be when he tries to do too much that he struggles. Reding doesn’t sit much so fatigue can be a factor, and in this game he’ll have to guard a bigger player as well. But if his jumper is on, there won’t be anyone on the FVG roster who can match-up with him.

The same could be said of Chang, he is FVG’s best one-on-one match-up, best defender, and best creator off the dribble. He doesn’t quite have the stroke of Reding or the height, but he is crafty off the dribble, and finishes better than most in the paint. And if his jumper is falling, Chang is even harder to guard. If they can get him in isolation situations, especially in crunch time, Chang is the type of player than carry FVG to a win.

68-67

Latta is what they call a load in the paint, much heavier and stronger than he looks. He is smart and versatile on both sides of the ball. He can have sluggish games where the offense just isn’t there, but he will contribute in a meaningful way even if it isn’t on the scoreboard. His size alone makes teams have to adjust their strategy.

If there’s any team well suited to playing vs size, it’s SKW. That’s because Miah is a 3-pt shooting dynamo. It doesn’t matter if he misses his first 10, he might make his next 10, and he just won’t stop shooting. Both he and Youreneff are crafty enough to live at the FT line as well.. When Miah is on, the whole team’s offense opens up.