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Week 6 Recap: Staples goes for 43, Brand Black remains undefeated and Metta gets the win in OT

7 Different teams are tied as we head into the final weekend of regular season games and Week 6 was by far the best 5-game spread of action this ENTIRE summer. Read about it here.

To Finish the day was Metta’s Courtside VS Pro Shot West

Swagg Media 85, White Collars 78 The White Collars look like they need to change their name to the Blue Collars if they want to pick up their first victory of the 2014 VBL Season. After Sunday’s loss to Swagg Media, they are now 0-5 and have positioned themselves in dead last of the rankings. Swagg Media was in full form on Sunday, with their all star backcourt of Baby Bron and Chris Staples putting on a scintillating show for the Venice crowd. From the rip, both were throwing down sick alley- oops and fastbreak dunks (courtesy of passes from the 4’5” phenom Mani Love). Bron finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds but the real standout of this game was Staples. Chris Staples knocked down a 2014 VBL record 6 threes in the first half, going on to finish the game with 9 total. White Collars never stood a chance with Staples slicing and dicing through the weak interior defense, scoring at will, and then periodically stepping back to knock down the trey ball. He finished the game with 43 points, 6 rebounds and 2 monster blocks. Swagg Media improves to 2-0 on the season.

Player of the Game and of the Week: Chris Staples (pictured)

Mean Ones 53, Alpha All-Stars 51 In game number 2, it was hard to follow up the previous highlight reel performance that Swagg Media put on. In fact, the first half was pretty sloppy basketball mixed with tough defense which normally equates to a low scoring affair. It wasn’t until the second half that the scoring started to pick up for the Mean Ones and Alpha All-Stars. Zig Zag, who notched player of the game honors in the past two weeks (along with Mike Jones) struggled throughout the game, missing a lot of open jumpers he normally makes. (He finished with 14). Mike Jones also struggled to handle the Mean Ones’ tough defense but still managed to notch 15 points on the day. Once again it was the will of these two players that got them back into the game deep in the second half after being down by around 10 points for a majority of the time. The Mean Ones didn’t have Frost to dominate the competition like he did last week, but inserted Bad Intentions into that role. He finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds and controlled the flow of the offense with many of the touches coming through him. But he didn’t do it without help; Beard Gang arrived late to the game but was an instant energizer (shout out to “Energizer”) to the Mean Ones offense as well. Performing his best James Harden impersonation, he wheeled and dealed through the lanes scoring at will with craft left-handed finishes. He also splashed two clutch threes in the fourth to keep the Mean one’s offense afloat. The Mean Ones improve to 2-3 on the season while Alpha is now 3-2.

Player of the Game: Bad Intentions

Hall of Fame 61, Sun Block 59

Our string of exciting games continued when Hall of Fame squared off against Sun Block in Game #3. Desperate for a victory, Sun Block (1-4) came out firing on all cylinders and was able to run out to 12- point lead after the first period. The Mute was all over the place and got to the bucket at will early on. He, along with the ever-imposing Donald Lee (22 points, 12 rebounds), had Sun Block in prime position to secure the upset. But then, just when Hall of Fame was on the verge of getting blown out, Rob Summers answered the call to help his team get back in the action. After being challenged by Kake Show (10 pts, 7 boards), Summers was able to knock down a couple of key baskets to seal the deal for Hall of Fame. Summers (14 points, 2 boards), B Towns (12 points, 6 boards) and D. Patt (10 pts) led the way to a 4-1 record.

Player of the Game: Rob Summers

Brand Black All-Stars 66, NCAA Boyz 48

Our second “Game of the Week” pitted the undefeated Brand Black All Stars against the reeling NCAA Boyz (1-4). On paper, it seemed like an extreme mismatch in Brand Black’s favor, especially since their full squad was available for the first time in a couple of weeks. A David vs. Goliath narrative of epic proportions, AJ “Chosen” Harris and his team had the odds stacked against them from the opening tip. Chosen was in top form for the majority of the game and finished with 20 points on the day. But it was not enough. Not only did T-Will (22 points and 8 boards), Kwame (18 points, 5 rebounds) and Brand Black overpower them, they did it in style. T-Will got loose for key buckets early and got the team going into a nice rhythm. Everyone got in on the action, including Beast and Young Fab (combined for 8 assists), who set the table perfectly. But the highlight of the day was when the Freak of Nature soared for an incredible throwdown over Chosen. Before Chosen could get out of harm’s way, Kwame came flying in and immortalized him on a poster. It was one of the day’s top highlights and capped off an exciting game, regardless of the final score. Though Brand Black (5-0) looks like the favorite to win it all, Archie aka YahDee (Hall of Fame) issued a challenge to Kwame after the game. Let’s hope this matchup comes to fruition since both teams are on a collision course to clash in the postseason.

Player of the Game: T-Will

Courtside 62, Pro Shot West 59

The Week 6 finale was one to remember. This game had it all: buzzer beaters, physical play, jersey swapping…you name it. It was a game with two closely matched teams who tried whatever it took to escape with a victory. Metta World Peace and Court Side looked to redeem themselves following a blowout loss in their debut last week. But to do so, they had to get by a tough Pro Shot West (1-4) group looking for win number 2 on the year. From the beginning of the game, it was a low-scoring affair with tough defense being played on both sides. When the second half started, however, the action picked up. World Peace inserted himself into the game and immediately imposed his will on PSW. Although Brokenbrough (10 pts, 7 rebs) and Meezy (18 pts, 5 rebs) played terrific defense, the former NBA Champion was still effective on his way to 20 points and 3 steals. World Peace and PD (15 points) kept Court Side in the game, though they only held a slim advantage with just seconds left to play. With one second to go, Pro Shot West’s Justin (14 points, 12 boards) was at the line to tie the game. The free throw was off the mark but Brokenbrough soared in with a putback to send it into overtime. In the extra period, the game was tied up, once again, with seconds left. Instead of Metta World Peace, Court Side passed to ball to an unlikely hero. Nathan aka Prince of Persia received the ball and stepped into an uncontested three-pointer. Swish. In one fell swoop, Court Side (1-1) won their first-ever game in the VBL. Despite falling victim to their fourth loss of the season, we have to give big props to Pro Shot West. They showed great resolve until the very end and did not go down without a fight. Brokenbrough (@JB13) and Meezy rose to the daunting task of guarding MWP and more than held their own. Hopefully, this game will give Pro Shot West even more confidence going into the final stretch.

Player of the Game: Metta World Peace