2016 FBA Season/16.06.17/PIT@ALB/Capsule
And this should be a fun one from Frump Coliseum. I'm Merill Providence, reporting live with your friends at snowhoot-dot-com, and welcome to Albany, NY, where we're live with game six of the Eastern Conference finals, between the Pittsburgh Keystones, and the Albany Alphas. The one seed and two seed have been locked in a home-team dominated series, a trend the Alphas hope to continue tonight to keep their season. It's gonna be interesting to see how they move forward here, having lost their 4-spot starter Viran Kivar to an abdominal injury. Ridley Madison fills in small forward tonight, with beloved coffee enthusiast Rodger Umaechi sliding up to power forward to cover for Kivar's absence. The rest of the starting five stays the same, with a line of Redmane, Lacoste, Madison, Umaechi and Tomilin going against Pritchard, Tolliver, Takamoto, Kirkpatrick and Tinker. Pittsburgh's line remains the same from Wednesday night, though the loss of Erik Kijani on the bench to a high-grade ankle sprain has to hurt. Will the Alphas force a game seven, or can Pittsburgh take the first road win of this series and move onto the finals for the first time in their brief history in the steel city? Don't change that dial, folks.
And we're underway, folks! Tomilin takes the opening tip for Albany, though the Alphas' first possession comes up empty. The Keystones open the scoring on their very first drive to the hoop, with Kirkpatrick finishing the possession using a gigantic, two-handed slam that quickly silences the riled-up home crowd. The Keystones parlay that into a 12-2 run to open the game, stopped only by a Umaechi ball from the woods about a third of the way into the quarter. The rest of the period is fairly back and forth, both teams trading rather even punches with one another. With about a minute left, Shirley Takamoto is seen clutching her side following a fierce drive to the hoop, riling the home crowd up once again as she's taken to the locker room for examination. An injury to the Keystones' swingfur has the Alphas and their fans thinking about a big run in the second quarter. Ned Pritchard and Wayne Kirkpatrick lead the Stones with 5 points each, and Umaechi has 7 to pace the Alphas, with that lone attempt from the woods at least helping to keep the deficit manageable. You wonder, though, if that Takamoto injury is going to swing momentum toward the trailing home team. The Keystones can't be liking the prospect of playing the rest of the game without her. And worse yet, she hasn't been seen as we prepare to start the second quarter. Hold onto your hats, everybody.
Welcome back, everybody! The second quarter sees another surge of offense from both teams. Takamoto doesn't make an appearance at all, though reports from the locker room indicate that the injury might not be a game-ending one for her. Seems she's just tweaked a muscle, and trainers are working on it to see if she can come back later in the second half. Saga Strom and Alan Murphy serve well enough as replacements for the feline, but Albany uses her absence, and the momentum from her injury, to chip away at the lead. Umaechi adds six more points to his total, and they get two crucial steals from Apiatan Redmane, the last converting into a bucket just before the buzzer, to cut the lead to two long-ball possessions at the break. Tolliver and Umaechi are your team leaders in scoring, the pronghorn with 10, the husky with 13. Tinker leads the Keystones with 6 rebounds, including an offensive rebound that she slammed into the hoop, and Redmane, again, sits with 2 steals, both in this quarter! Can the Alphas make their comeback to force game 7, or will Pittsburgh hold onto the lead and tough one out for Taka to punch their Finals ticket? Will the big cat return and 'swing' the momentum back to the road squad? We'll find out after the break.
Hey there, basketball fans. Sorry for the delay! Well, we're back, and here's your third quarter recap. The last 12 minutes in Frump Coliseum proved once again to be eventful. Shirley Takamoto came back, much to the dismay of both the Alphas players and fans. Loud groans and boos accompanied her return, though cheers were had when she proved slowed by her tweaked muscle, hesitating to shoot and defend. Albany was more than happy to capitalize on this, continuing to punch away at the Keystones' lead bit by bit, until the deficit sat at 4 by the time the buzzer sounded. The fans were left shaking their heads, in disbelief that their reign as conference champs, and their season, hung by such a thin thread of hope. At the rate they chipped down the lead the last two frames, it wouldn't be enough. Kirkpatrick leads the Keystones with 16, and while Umaechi holds a game-high 19, Pittsburgh sits 12 minutes from a spot in the finals.
Wow, folks. I gotta say, it's days like this that make you love the sport. The Alphas come into the quarter with a bit of momentum, though the Keystones have Takamoto back on the floor and appear set to snatch the East's bid to the finals. They start the quarter on a 6-2 run, doubling their lead and appearing to get themselves set for a potentially game-icing, crowd-silencing stretch. However, shortly after, something happens: Shirley hits the floor after slipping during a fast break, landing hard on the same side that she tweaked earlier in the game. She's led out once again to the locker room, giving the Alphas a bit of momentum that they turn into a stunning 16-2 run over the next 4 minutes, grabbing a six-point lead and giving the Frump Faithfuls tons to cheer about. However, the Keystones aren't done yet, punching back with their own 6-0 run to tie the game on Sonja Tinker's turnaround from ten feet out. From there, it's pretty much even for the next couple minutes. With 2 minutes left, and a tied game at 104, James Frestrikial of Albany and Jasper Witham of Pittsburgh collide going for a rebound. Both backup bear centers leave with injuries, James with a neck strain, Jasper with strained abs. 15 seconds remain, and the Alphas hold a slim two-point advantage at 110-108. Kirkpatrick goes for a game-tying putback off a miss by Pritchard, but misses, again energizing the crowd. Redmane rebounds, shooting down the court with a passion. He stops just before reaching the 3-point line, arcing in a dagger of a shot that provides the final points of the night. The Alphas cheer vociferously, and Kirkpatrick throws up an attempt from 40 feet that smacks wide right off the glass, but it would have been too little, too late. We're gonna have to go back to AmeriSteel to settle this one, folks. Umaechi grabs the PotG award, with 31 points, 8 rebounds, a pair of dimes and a steal. Kirkpatrick is your Peak Pittsburgh Performer with 21 points, 9 boards, a dime and a block. Redmane and Hailey help pace the comeback with 20 and 15 respectively. Sonja Tinker drops 14 and 11 to grab a double-double, but it's sadly not enough. Game seven awaits. Merill Providence, signing out for snowhoot-dot-com. And lemme tell you, this raccoontaur can't wait to see how this series ends.
-Merill Providence (Kyuji)