RECAP: This was one of those games in which TDL legends are made. First, let’s set the stage. Supreme Team, possibly the league’s biggest surprise this season, entered this game against powerhouse Ball So Hard down starters. BSH attacked the depleted roster right away with (F) David Hsiung shooting lights out 6-6 FGs for 15 pts. BSH led 25-17 at the half, it would have been a blowout if not for SUP (G) Brian Kim making big shots keep his team afloat. They did this with (G) Jeff Syham missing his first 12 FGAs.

Syham shot 2-14 FGs in the 2.5 quarters and it looked bleak for SUP, but the momentum suddenly shifted in the 2nd half. SUP tightened up their interior D, and with Hsiung going cold (missing his last 6 FGAs), perhaps from chasing Syham around all game, BSH struggled to find any consistency on offense. Syham for his part, caught fire, making 7 of his last 9 shots to carry SUP to the lead. BSH (F) Sherwin Salar hit a big shot to force OT but Syham had no let up in the extra period, putting his team on his back, knocking off the defending champs, and taking SUP to their first ever title game. 

RECAP: Much of Splappa’s success this season came from the tireless play of (F) Pierre Riddle and his relentless attack on the glass, but he was not available in this game and for once, the Sex Panthers looked like they might have the advantage on the glass. Early on, they did not. In a game in which (F) Chris Di was brutally unstoppable on offense, SXP finished with just 5 rebs at half time. SPL (G) Brian Birnbaum at about 5-6, had 7 boards. It was this lack of urgency on D that kept SPL in the game, down just 36-32 at the half.

But SXP kept pouring it on, and eventually the rebounds came, too. They ended up beating SPL 29-27 on the glass. But more notably, Di’s dominance in the paint opened up everything. (G) Greg Loeffert danced around defenders and seemingly made the right decision every time for a career-high 14 ast. Then came (G) David Chu to open the floodgates. If SPL did a decent job in the 1st half of shadowing Chu, they eventually couldn’t keep up. Three after three after three put this game away with a 20-4 run in the 4th qtr. Chu had a playoff career-high 10 3FGs, finishing with 34 pts to finally get this SXP team to a title game.