Joy Boys take down Ballers in rivalry showdown

Game Summary

The Joy Boys have one goal in mind this season and that is to dethrone their archrivals the Green Dot Ballers. Their campaign to do so is off to a great start as they took home a 63-51 win. In a game that featured all of the signature Joy Boys moves, they took a 44-31 lead into halftime, fueled by a 17-5 run to end the half. The Ballers spent the second half playing catchup, but strung together an 18-7 run of their own to cut a lead that had ballooned to 17, all the way down to six with 3:12 remaining. However, the Joy Boys executed down the stretch to take the first of what will likely be 3 meetings this season.

The Joy Boys deny Cam Wade and Chris Larson during their defeat of GDB.

Headlines

My mind is playin tricks on me The full Joy Boys experience was on display during this clash:

Spreading the floor to splash 3s?? Check

Jamming the rebounder for a basket? Check

Grand Theft Alvarado steal and basket? Check

Cherry Picking baskets? Check

Yelling at the refs and getting a tech? Check and Check

Thriving in the chaos??? Unfortunately, check.

Styles make fights Green Dot came out in a zone defense that had been stifling offenses around the league allowing just 38 points per game. JBs had all the answers to the test in the first half hitting a bevy of threes on the way to 44 FIRST HALF points. GDB switched to man to man defense in the second half to take away the threes. This change put the Ballers right back on their defensive performance for the year, giving up just 19 second half points. The depth of GDB this season may afford them the opportunity to return to man to man pressure defense that was a hallmark of their attack throughout the years.

A rivalry in the truest sense The Joy Boys win knots up the all-time series between these two stalwart franchises at 9 wins apiece. With one more regular season game (March 21st) and a potential third matchup in the playoffs, all eyes will continue to be on this marquee matchup. Of course, the Ballers hold the championship round edge 3-1, so if you are going to lose a game, it is best to do it in the regular season!!

MVP

Danny Abatemarco - On a night where Green Dot struggled to get anything going consistently on offense, Danny came out firing with a team high 3 three pointers and 11 points on the night. His shooting kept the Ballers close in the first half, but he couldn't find much in the second half.

Up Next

vs Straight Cash (3-0) 9:00 pm - There are three teams head and shoulders above the crowd. After losing to one of them last week, GDB needs to bounce back to leave any hope for a regular season title. Straight Cash comes in with the best offense in the league, dropping 90 points last week vs Self Check. Ballers have bye the following week and do not want to head into it on a losing streak.