a DAY IN MY SHOES.: April 2009

Whoot so we won our first game on saturday.
we beat the defeding champs from last season the ROOKIES,
who we also lost to in the our first game last season.
Had a career high 19 points. Helped the team come back
from a 14 point deficit. Man Charger games are CRAZY!
Seems like we're playing in the pros, hella fans
and people watching and cheering.
If you havent gone to a game yet i suggest you do!
You'll see how intense the games are!

well heres a little summary of the game

Class E: Chargers vs. Rookies

The reigning champions, the Rookies, took the floor looking to get a good start in defending their title against a team that made a late surge into the Elite 8 last season. From the outset both teams took a couple of minutes to feel each other out. Call it what you'd like, good defense or sloppy play, but there weren't many points in the first 3-4 minutes as the Rookies led early on 3-2. But the Rookies put an end to that with fluid ball movement around the perimeter finding the open man to hit 3s, and they hit them often en route to shredding the Chargers' 2-3 zone defense and building a 25-12 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half. With the Chargers reeling they called a timeout and switched to a man-to-man defense, where they slowly chipped away at the double digit lead of the Rookies, cutting the deficit down to 10 at the half, 35-25.

In the 2nd half the Rookies tried to re-establish themselves, as well as their lead, and got a quick layup to build their lead back to 12 at 37-25. But the Chargers offense asserted themselves more and made their physicality a presence by repeatedly getting to the basket for a handful of 3-point plays. With both crowds creating an electric atmosphere and the score 49-42 in favor of the Rookies the intensity picked up. A steal on the inbounds by Jackie Cruz made the crowd roar as they could feel the Chargers mounting an improbable comeback against the reigning champs. They moved the ball around the perimeter until they found Jackie in the left wing who netted a 3-pointer to trim the lead down to 4 at 49-45. But the champs responded with a deuce to push the lead back to 6. However the Chargers continued to persevere and scored the next 7 points which concluded by a 3 pointer to give the Chargers their first lead 2-0 at 52-51. But the Rookies would not be deterred as they responded with a 3 of their own to reclaim the lead 54-52. The Chargers tied the game then scored another bucket to take the lead 56-54. A Rookies free throw sliced the lead to 1 and a defensive stop with close to a minute left in the game setup a gamebreaking possession. But a Charger steal converted into a transition layup pushed their lead to 58-55. And with every shot becoming more and more futile the Rookies began to unravel. A few more free throws and final layup in the waning seconds gave the Chargers the win 63-55, also handing the Rookies their very first loss in the Class E division.

Final Score:

Chargers 63

Rookies 55