Semi-finals set after Week 3 of Hoopsfix Pro-Am
It will be FunctionAll taking on Solent Kestrels and Ankd facing off against Hoopspace in the semi-finals of the Men’s Hoopsfix Pro-Am after the final week of the regular season on Sunday at Brixton Rec, South London.
Ankd (3-0) brought in two GB internationals and took down London United (0-3) 67-61 to lock up the number 1 seed in Pool B as the only undefeated team at 3-0, Solent Kestrels (2-1) stunned TMB (1-2) 57-51 to lock up the second spot, while in Pool A, we ended up with a 3-way tie after Hoopspace (2-1) handed OT Boyz (2-1) their first loss, 49-41 and FunctionAll (2-1) got past Surrey (0-3) 57-45.
It would be FunctionAll that locked up the number 1 seed in Pool A, with Hoopspace sitting in second after OT Boyz got bumped after looking unbeatable through the first two weeks.
The three-way tie led to looking at the head to head match ups between the three teams, and then the points difference between their results, so it looked as follows:
Function 1-1 (+4)
Hoopspace 1-1 (0)
OT Boyz 1-1 (-4)
The opening men’s game of the day saw a stacked Ankd squad get past a respectable showing from London United. With GB internationals Carl Wheatle (5p, 6r, 4a) and Amin Adamu (8p, 4r) joining a squad that already was loaded. It was Juan Manning that stole the show, going 5 of 8 from three to finish with 15 points, while Travis Edwards added 11 and Brandon Tchouya had nine in a balanced effort that saw Ankd rotate throughout.
Mergim Sokoli continued his solid Pro-Am showing with London United, having 20 points in defeat, but they will now be playing for fifth place.
Next up, Solent Kestrels left The Minimum Brand stunned with a six point victory to lock up their spot in the semi-finals. Max Matthews had a strong debut with 10 points, while Tyler Fairbairn continued his consistent showings with another 12-point, eight rebound effort.
A tied game with 8 minutes left, Solent reeled off a 6-0 run to give them the cushion they needed to book their semi-final spot.
Elijah Bailey led TMB with 10 points, Kyle Carey had nine points and eight rebounds, while Jake Eynon had six assists, with the debut of 7’0″ big man Lee Linton Hodges not being enough for TMB.
The most anticipated match up of the day, saw Hoopspace shock OT Boyz, in a back and forth affair with no team being able to get separation until the fourth quarter.
Hoopspace held OT Boyz scoreless for the final four minutes, finishing the game on an 8-0 run, spearheaded by Keylane Lasisi, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Damarni Velinor had 12 points to lead Hoopspace, but it was Dwayne Orija who proved to be pivotal, finishing with 11 points and four steals.
OT Boyz were once again led by James Claar, as he registered 15 points.
FunctionAll proved victorious in the final game of the day, riding 2022 MVP Peter Turay – once again proving to be an MVP candidate with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals, and having some crucial bucks in the defining fourth quarter run.
Jordan Spencer seven of his 11 points in the fourth, while Irish international Taiwo Badmus had 10 points and five steals in his long-awaited Hoopsfix Pro-Am debut.
Surrey were led by 12 points from Aaron Williams.
Semi-Finals
Sunday 7th July
15:30 FunctionAll vs Solent Kestrels
16:45 Ankd vs Hoopspace
Day pass tickets for £4 are still available here for the semi-finals and finals, the week after.
Final Group Standings
Pool A
1st FunctionAll 2-1
2nd Hoopspace 2-1
3th OT Boyz 2-1
4rd Surrey 0-3
Pool B
1st Ankd 3-0
2nd Solent Kestrels 2-1
3rd TMB 1-2
4th London United 0-3
You can watch all the games back on YouTube here.
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