THURSDAY, 7/26 at 6:30

PURPLE v BLACK

We find two A League veterans clashing heads in this matchup.  Griffin is leading a much weaker Purple team than teams we have seen him lead in the past while Parrish and company are in full stride.  Mike Wilson is playing up to the hype while Dowdy and Parrish are still putting up their usual numbers.  If Black wants to win this game, they will have to find a way to stop the league’s leading scorer Dakquan Davis along with Griffin.  Both strive in transition and can keep up with any backcourt in the league.  What has hurt them recently though is their defensive play in transition.  The whole Purple team has gotten stuck in too many 2-1 and 3-1 situations, leading to easy buckets.  They must limit these easy buckets if they want to have a shot at upsetting last summer’s runner ups.

Tom: 62-61 Black

Cherry: 65-55 Black

Polisi: 65-62 Black

Stank: 65-63 Black

THURSDAY, 7/26 at 7:30

GREY v NAVY BLUE

The twins and Labick's squad meet in the playoffs once again, this time with the twins having a new roster.  Quadere Allen, the 3rd Team All Houston selectee, has proven to be a solid pickup for the grey squad.  He was able to shut down Labick in their last meeting which resulted in an overtime loss, but the game looked promisiing at the end.  If it were not for inconsitent defense late in the 2nd half, grey would have walked away with the upset win.  In order for navy to avoid the upset again, Labick must break out of his scoring funk (20 points combined in his last 2 games in very un-Labick-like).  We don't see this as a problem for the former Summer League MVP.

Tom: 72-54 Navy

Cherry: 68-63 Navy

Polisi: 69-56 Navy

Stank: 68-60 Navy

THURSDAY, 7/26 at 8:30

ORANGE v BABY BLUE

Danzig and company find themselves in some unfamiliar territory.  They have made the playoffs for the first time but are on a brutal 4 game losing streak.  The Orange squad has not been able to close out games, causing this streak.  If they wish to get back to their winning ways and advance to the semifinals, they need to right the ship in the closing minutes of the 2^nd half as well as find a way to contain Timmy Smith and Sean Simon of the Baby Blue team.  Both are very capable of taking over a game as well as leading their teams on 5-0 to 10-0 runs by themselves.  This has happened many of times in the past, with Danny D’s championship hoodie serving as proof.  We hope this game comes down to the wire because it will be a great finish if so.

Tom: 66-62 Baby

Cherry: 60-57 Orange

Polisi: 66-60 Orange

Stank: 60-55 Orange