We are the Champions!

Last week, the ZAZZLE basketball team played in the PSC Spring/Summer league championship game. This was our 3rd season (out of 4) to make it to the finals. The season we didn't make it to the finals, we didn't play at all. The first two attempts ended in losses as our teams were greatly outmatched. But this season proved to be different.

We finished the season 9-1. Our only loss came as a forfeit because we didn't have enough players (I was in Chicago). I won MVP of the league, averaging 25 PPG & 10.9 RPG, connecting on 52% of my field goal attempts and shooting 42% from 3. Supposedly I only averaged a single assist per game, but I don't know how accurately the assists were tracked. My fellow teammate, Jesus, and I were also picked for the all-star team. But first we had to take care of business in the playoffs. With the top seed in the league, we got a 1st round bye and played Informatica in the second round. Informatica was actually the team we lost to in our first time in the championship game.

Their team was a bit different this time around and had a lot less size, but it didn't make the game any easier. We only had 5 players for the first 30 minutes of the game and the fatigue began to show late in the 2nd half. But once our long-range bomber, Brian, got out of his meeting, we had some extra pep and were able to recover from a 10-point deficit late in the game to send it into overtime. Jesus and Brian were big in our comeback. In overtime, we handled our business and pulled away with the victory.

Half the company showed up for the final game and disappointing everyone for a third straight time was not an option. We faced BTC who had Jimmy Balderson, the ex-captain of the BYU Cougars along with a few other tall trees. We put Brian on Jimmy and he was did an amazing job staying in front. But whenever Jimmy was able to beat him, he had a ton of help defense. We either forced Jimmy into a tough shot or a pass to teammates. It was a close game throughout, but we pulled out a 62-48 victory. I don't know exactly how many points I had, but it was probably somewhere in the 30s. After the game we received our trophy and took a ceremonial picture:

ZAZZLE Basketball Champions. Front Row (left-to-right): Jesus, Robert (ZAZZLE's C.E.O.), Maury & Eddie. Second Row: Chris, Jon, BenMVP, Brian & Ladonrick.

If you ever come and visit ZAZZLE Headquarters, you'll see the trophy sitting pretty on top of our receptionist's desk next to our Crunchie award.

GO TEAM Z! The beginnings of a dynasty!