In the Championship Basketball League’s first championship series, Fully Loaded swept We’ll Deal With It in a spectacular display of lead changes and hard-nosed scrappy play on both sides.
Fully Loaded ended the series with a quick steal and layup by their point guard.
“He spun around, and I stripped the ball from their guard,” said Tare “Cancun” Beltranchuc “There were about four guys around him. Pookie (Charles Sylvester) got it and passed it back to me. I made the shot.”
It was the 31st point, the total needed to win the game in the CBL half-court championship rules.
“It was a good game,” said We’ll Deal With It player, Larry “TY” Jones. “They came to play. We underestimated Cancun. When they needed a big play he came through.”
We’ll Deal With It, took a late game lead, 28-27 after TY made a 15 foot jumper. However, Demond “Oola” Lewis responded quickly with his own shot. Fully Loaded never looked back as Mike Franklin made a shot, was fouled and made the free throw. On the next play, Cancun yo-yoed around the court, got free from a pick from Pookie but was fouled, as he attempted a layup. His free throw gave Fully Loaded a 30-28 lead, setting up the steal and layup to win the game, 31-28.
“Our team’s strategy was to slow Mike down, said Jones. “The first game he had a double-double. Mike was key to their ability to win. I knew we had to play better defense and play better, if we were to win.”
“We were over confident. We thought they had no chance at all. The first game, we built a huge lead,” said Fully Loaded Point Guard, Cancun. “But, in the second game, they came strong. We couldn’t click. They kept setting picks and making plays.”
“I give my teammates the most for listening, even when they did plays that could have cost us,” said Fully Loaded coach, Boo. “Our players kept maintaining focus, even when calls weren’t going their way.”
“I was really proud that we were competitive in the second game,” said We’ll Deal With It coach Raphael. “We had a chance of winning. In the first game Cancun independently beat us. I wanted to limit his affect the second game. We would have not made it as far as we did, without Orlando “Duck” Harris. He’s really competitive and can get a win for us as he did all through the season.”
