In this edition of On The Ball, NATION basketball writer Justin Marville reviews last weekend’s Co-operators General Insurance Premier League finals.
INSIGHTS, OBSERVATIONS and musings of a historic Game 5 of the Pinelands-Lakers finals rematch.
• THEY WEREN’T SUPER, but don’t tell that to the Pine’s supporters.
Without venturing near Princess Royal, I think I can safely say a certain team in all black more than got its hero’s welcome this weekend after bringing back the community’s first league title in 12 years.
And would you blame ’em, even if they gave Charlie and company everything short of knighthood?
Consider then, what it must’ve been like over the last seven years or so while Pinelands not only suffered their first ever demotion from the top flight, but also had to cope with the tragic deaths of community legends Andrew “Tarzan” Thorpe and Kirk Patrick.
Even when things were supposedly on the up, a particular old foe threatened to turn those smiles upside down once more, with Lakers giving them a timely reminder that they aren’t that far removed from the past by zooming to another 2-0 finals lead.
I guess at some point enough has to be enough.
In no small order, all Pinelands did was survive an 11-point fourth-quarter rally in Game 3, overturn a 13-point Game 4 hole, rewrite history in a record-setting finals comeback and repel a decade worth of hardship.
Super? Maybe not, but they sure look heroic from here.
• If you had to ask, the epic 2010 Cavs-Lakers series still ranks as the best finals I’ve seen (they’re really not that many), but this doesn’t rate that far off in terms of recent championship matchups.
For a series that was supposed to be oh so lopsided, this showdown was anything but, and not just because it went the distance either.
It just doesn’t get any closer when every game is literally decided by one possession or two, as the biggest margin of victory proved to be four points – and that happened but once.
Even the storylines alone were enough to drive the series without the close margins, with the prospect of a rematch sure to build up enough interest while Lakers’ surprising 2-0 lead made the rest of the finals worth watching.
Then there was Jeremy Gill’s game-winning lay-up in Game 3, and the Pine’s improbable fourth-quarter comeback of Game 4 that set up the Game 5 thriller.
Of course, there’s that small issue of a certain English-based point guard who may not have played despite being in Barbados for the last two games.
And to think there were those of us hoping for a Pinelands-Cavs series instead.
• I’ve heard at least five conflicting stories, and I’m quite sure there are another five more, but I can’t for the life of me understand what plausible reason there could be for Andre Lockhart not suiting up for this series.
Barring injury, there should never ever be a question mark over the star floor general’s status when it comes to playing Laker games. He’s home, he’s playing. Simple.
It’s not like Lockhart has dared appear for another club, so it is baffling to learn that the national team vet wasn’t even registered this season for a team whose court he can see from his kitchen window.
I mean should it ever come down to either Lockhart or head coach Francis Williams having to ask the other about taking the floor?
Regardless of the reason, both men robbed the sport’s biggest stage of its best player and possibly another epic Locky-Bull matchup.
• The Lockhart fiasco aside, that’s sure some curious decision-making from a man widely-regarded as the league’s best coach.
I get that there aren’t any other sensible ball-handling options on Lakers’ roster, but subbing Keefe Birkett for a grand total of 40 seconds for an entire five-game series may have just cost Williams title No. 5.
Sure he’s the sport’s fittest player, and by a mile too, but does it really come as a surprise that Birkett went an unbelievable three of 16 from the floor in Game 5 while shooting short on every one of his jumpers.
Yet I can understand the reasoning behind that decision. Leaving your most talented offensive weapon on the bench in the fourth quarter of a Game 5 where you’re struggling for points is another matter altogether.
It’s not like Mark Bridgeman doesn’t close just about all of Lakers’ games either, so to see the uber-skilled forward on the pine while his team managed only five points over the final 5:31 is nothing short of a real head-scratcher.
