Finally the REAL season as I like to call the postseason is among us. The P.I.T.S League playoffs are set to begin Thursday 9:30 p.m. at Kettering-Largo Recreation Center, which is located at 431 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD. This is a unique postseason as a women's champion will be crowned for the first time in the ultra competitive summer league, while on the men's side, undefeated and top seed Team Hylin will look to continue their winning way's to unseat the defending champs Core. As in any league, there are teams favored to possibly win and players who are expected to do major damage during their teams respective runs towards the P.I.T.s League Championship. So without further delay, here is a preview for the postseason.
Women's Division -
Teams To Beat -
Team Anonymous (5-1) - Led by Player of the Year candidate Natalie Gramblin, lock down defender Ebony Edwards and deadly sixth man Asyja Smith, dominated all regular season, finishing the season on a five game winning streak after their only loss came in the opener. Although, Rene Strong, who is led by Kendall Shepard and Catrise Cannady, Black Lives Matter who brings a talented core with Nickia Gibbs, Antoinette Reese and Carla Batchelor and defensive minded Huddle Show has Keena Samuels and Kenia Cole, Team Anonymous is the clear favorite to be the the first women's champion in P.I.T.S League history due to the strong depth of the roster.
Team Anonymous vs Team Them
Key Players -
Shanae Baker- Brice (Team Them)
Kendall Shepard (Rene Strong)
Natalie Gramblin (Team Anonymous)
Nickia Gibbs (Black Lives Matter)
Men's Division -
Teams To Beat -
Team Hylin (7-0) achieved perfection during the regular season, thanks in large part to determined team play and the lethal scoring from guard Isaac Thornton. Thornton averaged 33.5 points over Team Hylin's last two games including a 42 point performance in a come from behind win over ATB to close out the regular season. It won't be easy for Hylin to pull off the undefeated run. Right on their heels all season was The Huddle Show, who finished the season (6-1) and is led by guard Marcus Ashton, Quinton Jones and D'Angelo Vaughn. (4-2) J&R's Mob suits up one of the best players in the league Jamahl "J-Dub" Brown, defensive ace Jamarl Glen and sniper Maurice Creek. Lastly, it's dangerous to forget about defending champs Core (3-3), the veteran leadership of Dele Ojo who can dominate a game defensively without scoring a point, Bruce Massey who is one of the more complete players in the league, scoring machine Zaid " Zeke" Hearst and of course the inside-outside force that is Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones, can easily click and end up repeating as champs. However, Hylin is playing great team basketball right now and will be a tough out, yet, there are some hungry teams eager to make that happen.
Team Hylin vs Core
Core Vs No Losses
Team Hylin vs DMV All Stars
Key Players -
Marcus Ashton (The Huddle Show)
Bruce Massey (Core)
Jamahl " J-Dub" Brown (J&R's Mob)
Isaac Thornton (Team Hylin)
Dele Ojo (Core)
Nate Flowers (No Losses)
Zaid "Zeke" Hearst (Core)
D'Angelo Vaughn (The Huddle Show)
Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones (Core)