Boasters League
Final~~
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| Dewey Steffen |
The difference one rally can make. We all replay our matches
in our own heads after the fact, especially if we have lost, and extra-especially (… what horrible
grammar!) if we have lost by just a point of two. And then there is the
extra-extra-especially if that loss can affect the outcome of your team for the
entire league season. That tin at 14-all… that ‘let’ that you didn’t call… that
lucky frame shot your opponent shanked out… all the scenarios that would have
been different in a parallel universe… if only you had a time machine… how many
re-do’s you need…?
Nothing like a nip and tuck contest between the two best
teams of the season to determine the Boasters League champions and it was
terrific to witness many of the games being decided on sudden death points
although I am sure some you would disagree with that! Many of those 1-rally
shootouts could have easily changed the outcome.
The bonus points. Mongoose
stitched themselves somewhat with needing 3 subs for the finals. Not much they
could do, injuries occur and it just so happens the timing was not ideal for
them. Add on (or subtract in this case) that 2 others didn’t / couldn’t show up
either, and they only picked up 12. Over
Served managed 14 of their possible maximum of 17 bonus points, giving them
a vitally important 2 point advantage and also the tie-break winner in case the
scores were to be tied by the end. In other words, Mongoose needed to win outright.
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| Also Dewey |
There were plenty of games that came down to 1 or 2 points,
3-0 results that very easily could have been 2-1 or even reversed, and all the
night the 2 teams kept within smelling distance of each other. Let’s start with
Mario Ferrini (Over Served) and Dewey
Steffen. Dewey started the match with his Batman t-shirt on, a “super-hero”
that has no special abilities outside of his fancy gadgets. For the first game,
Mario wasn’t fazed and pretty much treated him more like the lesser Boy-Wonder,
Robin, than the superior caped crusader. Dewey’s bat-racquet and bat-shoes, nor
his bat-power were good enough. Not even an almighty bat-jump could save him
from the game winning lob serve that went over his head for a winner. But
apparently, maybe some bat-fumes were taking some effect on Mario as the second
game saw him hit more unforced errors allowing Dewey to stay in the game and
eventually take the win. For the all-important third Dewey wasn’t taking any
chances. Batman wasn’t doing it for him. Out came the Superman top, Captain
America wristband and probably somewhere underneath, Wonder Woman
undergarments. The Avengers personified, Dewey picked up the power, slamming
the ball from the serve onwards. Mario was caught off guard, and was left
lagging behind. He did start to get the hang of it though, and mounted a
comeback of sorts but it was just a little too late. Dewey took the match 2-1
then took off in search of the Legion of Doom’s hide-out.
Mack Gembis (Mongoose) and Brandon Tasco are two lads that have improved quickly over this
past season. Young and athletic (I have long
forgotten what that feels like!), their learning curve has been rapid. Still,
at this level, consistency is always a gremlin. Splitting the first games, the
third was a runner’s paradise and a witness’s charm. Watching them cover the
court was engaging thrilling stuff at its finest. Again coming down to the last
couple of rallies, Brandon sets up a couple of match points with a Ramy
Ashour-esque backhand volley cross-court drop into the nick, a shot I’m quite
positive he doesn’t remember doing and even if he did, clueless at how he
pulled it off. He only needed one, but it was another long exchange, and Mack’s
ill-timed unforced error ended the marathon. Brandon 2-1.
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| Dewey? Is that you? |
While Mack and Brandon were pounding out the miles, next
door, Colin Casey and Dino Ricci were busy throwing their
weight around. Dino was subbing in for Mongoose
and it was another evenly matched contest. Once again the two players shared
the spoils for games one and two, the third a battle of wills. Hustle, hustle,
hustle. Almost nothing between them, we could all hear the inhaling and
exhaling from the other side of the glass. Two months ago, Colin beat Dino 2-1
in the league but this time Dino can breathe in (heavily) the scent of revenge.
He takes it 2-1.
I’m sure every match deserves its own commentary and full
blown paragraph, but if I did that we’d be here until next week. So I won’t
mention that JC Tibbitts (subbing
for the injured Blake Ellis for Mongoose) took down Jeff Gembis for a third time in one
week – again 2-1 – and is turning into the bugaboo gorilla on Jeff’s back. I
also won’t mention that Jerry-the-Rock-Lobster (Over Served) cross court dropped and lobbed his way to a 3-0 tight
win over Tom Fabbri. And I certainly
will keep quiet about Michael Siegel’s
(Over Served) 2-1 win over Helen French particularly after Michael
purchased a Ninja 140 squash racquet - the same one I use – and clearly is now
using the best stick on the market.
With four matches to play, the scores were almost identical,
Mongoose holding onto the slimmest
of margins, 33-32. With three of those matches being pushed into the start of
next week, the final contest of the evening had Henry Gembis (Mongoose)
play Paul Gormley. Henry bolted out
of the gates jumping on every ball as if his life depended on it and getting
rewarded for the effort. He took the first 2 games before Paul started to
figure it out presented the resistance he was missing earlier. He reached 14-13
and had 2 games balls but unfortunately for him and Over Served he could not convert. Henry escaped with the 3-0 and
with that stretched Mongoose’s lead to 4 points. If Paul pulled out the game,
the lead would have just been 2.
Time warp to Monday. Sandy
Selinger (Mongoose) had the
capability of ending the dream for Over
Served right there and then. A 3-0 win over Kevin Kennedy would make the advantage unassailable but the task
was not that easy. The two past recorded results had the pair sharing one win
each, both scores were 2-1. Keeping with the trend, once again the score was
2-1 with Sandy coming out on top, pushing the Mongoose lead to now 5 points and making the task for Over Served all the more difficult.
With 2 matches to play, Over Served
had zero room for error – they had to win them both 3-0.
Early the next morning, Jay
Bonahoom (subbing for Mongoose’s
Mike LoVasco) would take his good
form into tackling Colin Bayer who
was also hitting a fine ball these days. Recent history would suggest that
Colin was favorite as he had won their last 4 contests, but generally they were
pretty tight results so a 3-0 still would have been a tough ask. It was no
doubt an epic battle. And maybe Jay is a better ‘early morning guy’ but that’s
what strong coffee is for! Jay picked up another impressive scalp with a 2-1
victory and with that gave Mongoose the
lead for ever. And their second consecutive Boasters League title! And Paul Huth a smile on his face that
should last all summer. And Paul’s teammates will all be relieved that they
have survived the season successfully without any ‘bonus point’ causalities and
will no longer be receiving threatening phone calls on Wednesdays at 7pm.
The final match was still played out which was great to see,
but also because they didn’t know the score at the time – as cruel as I am, I wasn’t
telling them before they started! Haytham
Hermiz finished off Mongoose’s
excellent performance with a 3-0 victory making the end score not appear as
close as what the reality was. 43-34.
