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!

Games 2&3 Recaps

Flying Elephants vs. The Big Red Cream Machine & Flo-Recent Adolescents

Team Member Grades

NK-47 (A (MVE) & B-) – Had a great game last week, this week, not so much.

Man-icito (A & D-) - Played an impressive game last week, hopefully he has a short memory and can forget about tonight.

Jimmy Valvano Van Rollatini (B & C) – Held the fort down last week, this week had a tough time getting it going.

Stu-dotz (B- & C) – Stu struggled a bit last week.  This week was another tough outing.  Stu is poised to break out.

Buffalo Ant (DNP & B) – Ant was deathly ill last week.  Helped keep it respectable this week.

Robbie Hart (B ½ & DNP) – Robbie’s first half performance set us up last week but he had to leave abruptly for another team’s playoff.  This week he needed to be with them for round 2.  However, the wire came in that Robbie’s team lost in the YMCA playoffs tonight so he should be good to go for the rest of the season.

B-Cyrious (B & B+) – Played hard, played respectable.

Casey Casem (DNP & DNP) - work....Florida…will we ever see this handsome fellow??

The Elephants, the defending champs, are now a tale of two teams.  Last week the Elephants ripped through the Big Red Cream Machine.  The Creamers played well against the Champs but the Elephants turned on the heat with a combination of Anicito’s aggressive play and Noel’s dead-eye shooting.  Noel was awarded the MVE in tight voting.  Robbie Hart contributed a solid half before he had to dash off to play in a playoff game at the Y.  That win propelled the Elephants to (2-0) on the season. 

Being undefeated so far on the season had the Elephants feeling unbeatable.  It had them feeling like they were on cloud 9, not this cloud 9, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP8oLLh1Se0), but considering the entire team has yet to play with each other, they felt unstoppable. 

That was until tonight.  Tonight’s matchup was a replay of the championship game from last season.  The Gray-haired point guard and company were out for some revenge.  Fresh in their minds was Stu’s buzzer beater to win the game.  They wanted to show the world that they should be crowned champs.  While on the other side, Buffalo Ant was giving the ball back on layups (Anicito’s biggest pet peeve) and Brian kept farting and thinking it was funny.  Clearly the Elephants were too big for their britches. 

Flo-Recent Adolescents went up 11-0 on the Champions in the first four minutes.  Turnovers and lapses on defense were keeping the Elephants down.  When Gray hair drove the basket, the Elephants would collapse and the little lion shooters would be wide open and they were knocking them down.  The Elephants showed some flashes of life towards the end of the game.  B-Cyrious was the most efficient Elephant.  He was hitting his shots inside and grabbing some boards.  Buffalo Ant also played well, making his shots and working the hi-low with Brian.  With 15 minutes left in the game the Elepahts found themselves down 56-35. 

Anicito had a game to forget, 2 for 6 from the free throw line and at least two missed lay-ups.  Jimmy was aggressive in attacking the basket but had his issues with turning the ball over and forcing some shots.  Stu forgot about his defensive assignments at times and actually shot an air ball.  Noel’s had a couple of made threes but nothing to write home about.   The Elephants lost but made it respectable, losing 60-53. 

Tonight the champs took a shot in the mouth.  Not a shot that Robbie would send a group text about but a punch that made our lips bleed a little bit.  Tonight the Elephants felt a little like Clark Kent in Superman 2 when he became human and got beat up in the diner by some hick.  But just like Clark, the Elephants now know that they need to step it up.  Go back to the Fortress of Solitude and wear the cape that propelled them to champion status.  

Game 1 Recap

Flying Elephants vs. The White Boys

Team Member Grades

NK-47 (A) - Noel opened the game with a barrage of 3s that just sent the opponent reeling into oblivion.

Man-icito (B-) - Played disinterested but who can blame him,  it was 30 point blowout almost right from the start.

Co-MVE Jimmy Valvano Van Rollatini (A+) - Jim's tight shirt only hurt his free throw shooting.  Team statistician had Jimmy's line at 12pts, 11 rebs, 10 assists, and 4 steals - not too shabby.

Stu-dotz (B+) - Stu was destroying peeps any time he wanted when he went to the basket.

Co-MVE Buffalo Ant (A+) - Ant's first game in two years...but it didnt show.  He dominated down low, hit his jumpers, and defended the hoop nicely.

Robbie Hart (N/A) - No go...Had a football tournament the night before and still feeling the effects...who knew??

B-Cyrious (N/A) - Even though the big man committed to 1/2 the late night games, he decided to sit this one out...turned out to be the right idea.

Casey Casem (N/A) - work....

Note to reader - the author of these recaps instituted an MVE (Most Valuable Elephant) award for each recap.  Winner of most MVEs will be lifted on the teams shoulders and placed into a seat at a hibachi restaurant and treated to dinner at the end of the season.

Coming off the their championship off-season, the Flying Elephants 3.0 were ready to repeat their title run.  Co-GMs Noel King and Mike Anicito thought it would be necessary to bring in another Elephant to help the team.  They needed someone who can get up and down the floor.  Someone who could rebound and shoot.  Someone who was mentally capable of dealing with the success and popularity of being a Flying Elephant.  So after not much thought, they found the only person who could fit the role...part of the 2009 Flying Elephant Championship team, they brought in none other than Buffalo Ant.  This move would round out the 8 man rotation.  It gives the Elephants good size in the front court and speed in the back court coming into the season.

The Elephants' first test in a re-tooled league that features 6 new teams would be against the White Boys.  The White Boys were ten kids that were barely of voting age.  They amassed a combined weight of three hundred and fifty pounds.  Needless to say the Champs got off to a 15-0 lead within the first 90 seconds.  Five 3 pointers to start the game.  It was total devastation from there on in.   First it was NK-47 making 3 of the 5 3's.  Then Buffalo Ant, then Stu.  Jimmy and Man-icito we just along for the ride.  Jimmy then realized that the White Boys chucked the ball up and he could get out in front of everyone on the opposite end of the floor.  Buffalo Ant would rebound and just fling it down court for an easy lay-up.  A quote heard on the sideline by a reporter after a White Boy time out when it was 21-2 was Stu saying "im just mad that they scored 2".

The final ended up being something in the realm of 58-21.  As the Elephants walked out of the gym, some of the White Boy were congregated by the entrance watching the final episode of The Bachelor.  When we walked past one of them said " good game. Did you guys play college ball or anything?".  Jimmy had a hard on the whole ride home after that comment.

The Elephants also sported their new and improved reversible jerseys.

Flying Elephants 3.0 (1-0)

A team with a dream

The team that took the floor tonight was a team that hardly had an identity three months ago.  The Stack in Black, a team in flux added Anicito 5 games into the season.  Robbie who was the highly sought after free agent was in and out, busy with his new found hobby of needle point artwork classes that meet on Wednesday nights.  If you’re looking to purchase some of his creations you can do that here (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Walter-Crane-Peacock-12-x-12-inch-Needlepoint-Canvas-/130843458670?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e76e0bc6e). Mostly playing with a 5 man squad for the last four games, the crew went 3-1.   Then hurricane Sandy hit.  Water flowed right through the Fastbreak arena, destroying the floors.  There was a 6 week break from season action.  When play resumed the crew had come back (sans Needlepoint Robbie) and won their last game (against the #1 team) before the playoffs, earning them the #3 seed going into the post season.  After taking out two poorly constructed teams, they took their shot once again at the #1 squad.  This time however, Robbie was back, giving the Stack in Black the matchup they needed against a quick as cracker jacks Orange squad.  After methodically moving the ball and getting great looks, there was an upset in the gym that night.  The Orange team couldn’t handle the height of Cyriacks and Casey.  The verdict was a victory, one that prepared these men for another championship game.  They knew each other for a while.  Some of them were/are original Flying Elephants (Robbie, Anicito, Noel & Cyriacks).  Casey spent some time wearing the E.  Jimmy and Stu saw the potential in getting five veterans who have played together before and knew that this was the best shot they would have to vie for a championship and that is exactly what they got.

Fast forward 168 hours later to championship night.  8 pm tip off.  But around 1pm the team was given devastating news.  Noel got a text from big man Casey “I ate” Casem.  It turned out that Casey wasn’t aware that we had the championship game tonight and didn’t take off from work.  Perhaps his penchant for late night soirees and Chivas Regal caught up to him, forgetting to switch his day on the truck.
But just like Anicito’s fantasy basketball team, time and tide wait for no man.  They must press on.  With one lowly fan in the audience, Mr. Mahler was there giving his son and his adopted basketball sons, the support they needed. Their opponent was the Red team.  The Red escaped with a win against Big Yellow last week on a controversial buzzer beater.  Instant replay shows the team called a timeout before the shot was off and the ref never gave it to them.  However, it didn’t matter.  They were there waiting to claim their stake at the championship but the Stack in Black had other plans.

Stu (ref) was picked up by under-covers trying to score some Mali in the Concord section of Staten Island. The game needed to start with only one ref. The Red team struggled to get their shots to fall.  While the Stack in Black made their threes and got some hustle shots to fall.  They opened a 13-5 lead to start the game.  The Red team played ball hawk defense as both teams opted to play a man defense for all of the 40 minutes.  It was that hard-nosed defense that led to the Reds hitting some open threes and tying the game at the half 23-23.

As the second half got underway, Stu (ref) came hobbling in.  Whereas we all thought he was going to be serving a 2-4 (with good behavior) he was let off on a technicality.  So unfortunately he was going to ref the rest of this match.  His impact on the game affected both teams but the Stack in Black mostly.  Phantom calls really got us out of our rhythm.  Before you could look up at the score, a 5 point lead with three minutes to go was erased.  The Red had actually taken the lead 41-39.  Then it was all Robbie.  With a mismatch on Robbie with the time running down, he took his man to the hoop and got a foul call.  Robbie sank both to tie the game at 41.  With 15 seconds left in the game the Reds had a chance to win it.  Their point guard who donned a grey haired overlay had been getting to the hoop all night.  As the clocked ticked down he drove to the hoop, dished to another member of his team who stepped out of bounds.  This gave the crafty veterans 9.3 seconds and the ball to win the game.

A plan was drawn up by Robbie to get the ball to Cyriacks at the free throw line.  It worked to perfection as the inbound went to Brian who handed the ball off to Robbie.  Robbie raced down the length of the floor, 6 seconds, 5 seconds, Robbie got to the lane, 4 seconds, took two steps and leaped into the air.  Just then time stopped, flashes of every game we’ve ever played together came before our eyes. As Robbie cradled the ball in an effort to lay it in,  it soared toward the backboard in line to go down in the bucket.  But out of nowhere, the Taylor Hicks look-a-like swatted the ball away before it could touch the backboard.  3 seconds left.

With a time out called the Stack in Black, mainly Robbie, came up with an out of bounds play.  The play was to get the ball to Stu on the block.  Robbie would draw his defenders away from the play, Noel took the ball out and when Robbie streaked across the court, the court opened wide for a pass to Stu.  Stu caught the pass, turned around and banked the shot in with no time left on the clock.  Game over.   It was a 43-41 victory for the team that was in chaos throughout the season and now somehow had melded into Fastbreak Champions.  The Stack in Black forever immortalized in the championship books.  They would now be known as the latest version of the Staten Island Flying Elephants.

Congrats fellas.  Next season we will be outfitted in red and white reversible jerseys that will highlight the Elephant logo.  A symbol that we all should wear with pride.  A symbol that has been worn by basketball warriors in the past who you will now represent.  Wear it well, wear it for all eternity.