The 2013 Summer session has turned out to be an extension of the Elephant’s playoff run.  In game one the E’s knocked off the Russian Reds and in game two they fought a hard-nosed battle against team Eyal.  The Elephants have now won six straight going back to last season.

The new session didn’t come at an expense however.  After Casey “the casket” missed game one, there was a onimus text message sent to team President of basketball operations, Mr. King (not the NY Net’s President Billy King), Noel King (NK47).  The text message read…”casey busy, casey tired, casey can no play anymore”.  The team took this as The Casket’s official resignation.  Noel contacted team GM Mike Anicito to discuss a replacement.   With the contract extension of Robbie Hart the team had felt a bit strapped at the moment and the decision was made not to offer a long-term contract to anyone outside of the organization but to only sign players on a need-be basis to 6-day extensions.   So the Elephants are going to roll with a 7 man rotation. 

Game 3 - The Elephants prepped for a Porto (white) team.   Porto has posed as a threat to the Elephants in the past by giving them fits with their bigs and the Elephants don’t know how to handle the Asian player’s math calculation skills running the point.  However to the surprise of the Elephants Porto was not in the gym come game time.  They had skipped town and were now out of the league.  In their place was a light blue team that hosted a familiar face to some of the Elephants.  Vic Shoot’em Up Schettino was the light blue’s star player.  Brian, Noel, and Mike played with Vic in the Y league a couple of years back and knew all too well that he could take over a game with his streaky shooting skills. 

The Elephants came out of the gate flat.  Flatter than a twelve year old grade school girl.  The team looked like they were just not into it.  On offense they were one pass and done.  They were not attacking the rim, Jimmy actually shot two opening air balls and Noel couldn’t hit the back side, front side, or side side of a barn.  Robbie was getting open looks and making them count.  Stu contributed a couple of big three point bombs which kept the Elephants in the game.  As the first half ended the Elephants, despite being horrid, held a one point lead.  This was very much attributed to keeping Vic at bay and limiting to only a couple of shots made. 

As the second half started the champs knew they needed to pick the energy level up.  They needed to be reminded who they were and that their 6 game winning streak was on the line.   They did pick it up a little and Jimmy found his stroke, Robbie continued his barrage of threes, and Buffalo Ant and Brian worked the high low effectively at times.  But Vic got it going too.  His three point shooting was indefensible.  Despite Noel and Anicito’s defense Vic couldn’t miss.  Robbie then wanted to try and Vic just went down to the block and scored over him.  The Elephants found themselves down 8 with three minutes to play. 

The Elephants don’t crumble too easy though.  They are battle tested and have overcome adversity too many times to let a streaky shooter rattle them enough to falter.  The champs methodically got stops and executed big shots.  They traded some big blows but took advantage of missed opportunities.  With 40 seconds on the clock the Elephants found themselves down by 3.  They moved the ball around the perimeter and found Robbie at the top of the key for an open look at his patent shot.  And he nailed it!  Tie ball game.  The Elephants then got a stop on defense, leaving only 8 seconds left on the clock.  A fumble on the sidelines advanced the ball to half court for the Elephants.  With only 4.7 seconds left, Noel took the ball out on the sideline.  They double teamed Robbie, letting someone else beat them and someone else did.  Noel found Stu at the free throw line and put an Eli Manning like laser precision pass in his hands.  Stu took two dribbles to the basket, two Orb-like strides, elevated, and got to the rim with the defender on his back, game over!  Elephants win on a buzzer beater by none other than Stu (circa championship game buzzer beater shot).  3-0 to start the season as two time defending champs.  

Playoffs

The champs were ready to defend their honor going into this season’s playoff picture.  Coming in with a record of 5-4, the Elephants locked in a disappointing 7 slot, meaning no bye round, no rest for the weary.  The Elephants had to go the hard road if they wanted to defend what was rightfully theirs.

They would have to win a play-in game…EASY ENOUGH (SIFE 58 – WHO CARES 30)

They would have to go up against the green team…DONE (SIFE 55 – WHO CARES 40)

Then they would have to match up against the team they bested in the championship game last season, the team with the grey haired monster.  The team that beat down the Elephants in the regular season.  It was a game that would prove to be a challenge mentally more than physically.  The Elephants knew they were the better team but a last second buzzer beater by Stoodles that sealed the fate of the champs was not going to outweigh the beating the Elephants took by this team in the regular season.  If the Elephants were #1 in their own minds, the florescent adolescents were #1.8.  For the Elephants this challenge would either send them home in a disappointing, season-ending loss or propel them to levels of confidence they had yet to know or see. 

On the sidelines the Elephants had been seeing some familiar faces.  Brittany, once an outcast because she came to a JCC Flying Elephants game and B-Cyrious lost more than his mojo, clanking a crucial free throw in a tight playoff game (Noel laughing at the free throw line, which upset Brian to no end).   B-Cyrious banished Brittany from then on in but now the curse had been lifted.  Brittany had brought the luck of the German-Irish for a good part of the end of the season.  Maybe it was her good looks distracting the other teams?  Either way Brian knew to keep rolling that dice.  Also in attendance another Cyriacks….He’s known in town as the Outlaw.  He sports a rugged moustache and battle tested face.  He stand 6’5 and will crumble you with one glance…none other than Mr. Cyriacks.  Since retirement he’d come to cheer on his boy…by cheering I mean, cracking a grin. The Outlaw never speaks in public.  Let us not forget the newest, youngest Flying Elephant teammate.  Little Tyler…now nicknamed “Little Psycho T” (you UNC fans know the reference).  Little Psycho T has been corralling Buffalo Ant the past few months since his momma  accepted a ring of engagement from Buffalo Ant.  This lady must be a saint.  Little Psycho T has been on the sidelines keeping Ant’s head in it, making sure he isn’t getting into scuffles and he’s done a hell of a job.  Little Psycho T will soon be sporting a Flying Elephants jersey and hopefully one day will carry on the legacy.

The semi-final game began as expected.  The Elephants wearing  their red jerseys, black logo.  The florescent adolescents brightening up the gym.  The grey haired man gingerly walking in three minutes to post. None-the-less, it was going to be a thriller in tottenvilla.  The game started as you would expect.  It was a battle between a team that wanted revenge and a chance to compete for the title and a team that felt disrespected that they only finished a 7^th seed and wanted to show the world they were champions and insisted to stay champions. 

The Elephants rotated a 7 man roster with their enforcer Casey missing in action as work duty called.  They knew that it was going to be rough without him but they were intent on making this happen.  Robbie Hart led the way with his barrage of big-time shots and Jimmy V played larger than his 5’7 frame, grabbing boards over the trees.  B-Cyrious, Buffalo Ant, and Mikey A played some of the best defense of the year, making sure that the Fluorescents didn’t hit outside shots.  Noel played the Grey pretty well on defense, doing what he could to keep him from driving and getting layups.  Overall it might have been the best game the Elephants played all season.  Defense led to offense and they hits just kept on coming.  The Elephants prevailed and were on their way to defend yet another championship.

One Week Later…

168 hours had passed since the semi-final win and the Elephants took the court to defend their title against Bounacore.  Bounacore sports the orange jersey and brings a fan base that measures up to the attendance of the Mets on any given night.  They have a cheering section that waves the terrible towels and supports their beloved pumpkin-esq men.  Bounacore has two key players on their team, number 0 that is quick as lightening and number 10 who, at times, can hit the long-range three. 

The game opened up with the Elephants taking a commanding 18-5 lead.  The Elephants were fluid.  They were moving the ball to the middle and either kicking it out to Robbie or Jimmy for an open look or getting it to the big guys like Casey for an easy deuce.  The Elephants were much bigger than Bounacore.  In the better part of the first half the Elephants used their size and strength to bear down on them.  But something changed toward the end of the half.  The Elephants became stagnant and stopped working the ball.  Bounacore took advantage of this change in inertia and created pressure by getting to the basket and finishing, sometimes with an “and one”.  By the end of the half the Elephants saw their lead diminish to just three and the momentum swing to Bounacore’s advantage. 

To start the second half the Elephants continued their struggles but it was the defense that once again propped up the offense.  Steals and rebounds led to transition baskets where Jimmy or Stu would attack the basket and kick it out to Robbie or Noel for open shots.  The transition also led to the Elephants getting points at the line.  All post season long the Elephants struggled at the line.  It almost cost them the semi final game but tonight it flowed.  Robbie was probably 10-12 from the line and once horrid free throw shooter B-Cyrious was an astonishing 6-8.  Key free throws and big time shots from Robbie from behind the arc separated champs from chumps.   The Elephants went on to win their second championship in as many seasons.  Next week the season begins as they look for the three-peat.

Raise your trunks….THE CHAMPS ARE HERE!