Posted September 15, 2005

By Kevin Devlin

     South Boston Check Cashing Club blast Sal’s Young Guns to capture the 2005 South Boston Basketball Association’s men’s summer league championship 

     On Tuesday evening, August 30, the South Boston Check Cashing Club ambushed Sals “Young Guns” at the Tynan gym, 40-29, to win the South Boston Basketball Association’s 2005 men’s summer league title. The Young Guns just couldn’t handle the finesse of former small college All-American Paul Dooley (11 points) and the inside game of Thomas “TJ” Gondek (11 points/2 treys).

     Both teams came out of the gate mighty slow, as neither team scored a bucket during the first four minutes of the tilt. Kevin O’Neil stopped the drought with a trey from the corner and Player Coach Billy Allen (10 points) had a layup to give their team a 5-0 lead. But, as the game continued, both teams were still lethargic, unable to score, playing as if they were strapped down with cement boots. Then, Bobby

Deveneau (six points) hit a big trey, giving Sal’s Young Guns a 12-7 advantage.

     With 1:34 left before the break, Bobby McGarrell hit a three-pointer to give the South Boston Check Cashing Club their first lead of the game, 15-12. Brendan “The Ice Man” Carter (five points) drilled another trey to give Player-Coach Mike “Kobe” Anderson’s court warriors an 18-12 lead at intermission. The Young Guns were unraveling on the court, and needed to settle down and concentrate on the game, instead of on the game officials.

     In the second half, Gondek sank a trey and Mike Hurley (six points) hit another perimeter shot from the top of the key to give their squad a 24-13 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. The Young Guns tried to regroup but couldn’t mount an offensive run nor stop their foe on defense.

     Playoff Roundup  

     Playwright                 53

     SB Back and Neck      44

     Casey McKinley scored 14 points, Scott Bell had 13, Tom Hopkins added 11, and John Cunningham contributed 10 points. For the South Boston Back and Neck Center Club, Robbie “The Kid” Zarnoch scored 15 points, Mike “The Hammer” Mogan had 10 points, while Kevin Zarnoch and Sean McCarthy finished with 7 points apiece. 

     Lindberg Club            67

     Mirisolas                    57

     Last year’s playoff “MVP” Tommy Beatty netted 20 points, Eddie “Wilt” Curran (4 blocks) scored 13 points, and Dave Hanscom added 12 points. For Mirisolas, Timmy Bothwell scored 16 points, big, bad Matt Burton had 14 points and Matt “Sticka” Walsh concluded the summer season with 11 points.

     Sal’s                           70

     Cityside Tickets         52

     Young Guns center Billy Allen had a tremendous game scoring 22 points. Billy “The Irishman” Wiseman netted 16 points, and Bobby “The Cat” Gilcoine added 15 points. For Cityside Tickets, Bobby LaMonica scored 19 points, Jon Walsh had 18 points, and Mark “The Man” Goodman finished with 11 points.

     SB Check Cashing      46

     Cranberry Café          32

     Dooley scored 21 points and Gondek contributed 8 points to pace their club to victory. For the Cranberry Café Club, Mark Doran and Pat Houlihan scored 12 and 9 points respectively.  

     Semi-Finals

     Sal’s                          66

     Playwright                53

     Sal’s Young Guns took an early and impressive 16-2 lead, but the Playwright Club fought back to tie it up late in the second half. Then, Gilcoine (29 points) and Allen (19 points) went to work and it was to be the final act for the Playwright Club. For Playwright, Cunningham netted 16 points, Dan Shome had 12 points, while McKinley and Matt Gilardi finished wit 10 points apiece.  

    SB Check Cashing      66

    Lindberg                    35

    What was expected to be a battle royale from start to finish, quickly turned into a rout, as Coach Anderson’s warriors trounced the powerful and stunned Lindberg Club. Dooley netted 16 points, and Carter added 14 points, including four treys. Jay Coughlin continued to play solid hoop, scoring 10 points, Flynn and Gondek had 9 points each and Hurley finished with 8. For the Lindberg Club, Scott Martin netted 16 points and Tommy Beatty had 7. 

     Commissioner’s Note

     Eddie “Wilt” Curran would like to thank the sponsors for their support and generosity. The sponsors were Lindberg, Cranberry Café, South Boston Back and Neck Center, South Boston Check Cashing, Sal’s, Cityside Tickets, Playwright, and Mirisolas.