RotoWire – Joe Bartel

Blazer5 Gaming and Warriors Gaming Squad squared off on Day 2 of THE TURN, powered by AT&T, in what amounted to a thrilling three-game series. It came down to the final moments, but it was Warriors Gaming Squad who would come out ahead with a 2-1 series win, thanks to a bit of fortuitous timing and excellent perseverance.

Game 1 would belong to WGS according to the official line, but it was anything but that for the first three quarters of the contest. Blazer5 Gaming, thanks to the heroics of point guard Mama Im Dat Man and center OneWildWalnut, would push the 10-win Warriors to the limit throughout the opening 18 minutes, sporting a four-point lead entering the final quarter. It wasn’t until a little under two minutes left in the fourth before the Warriors would eventually squeak ahead, but Mama would answer right back with a three of his own to push the Blazers back ahead closing in on the last 60 seconds of the contest. After both teams traded baskets down the stretch, Blazer5 Gaming power forward, MaJes7ic, would miss a wide open 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left that would have more than likely gave the Blazers the win. A CB13 missed 3-pointer would eventually see the game go into overtime, but it was the Warriors who would pull ahead late thanks to a 6-0 run with about two minutes to go. That bit of separation was all WGS needed to escape with a Game 1 win, as point guard CB13 continued his run of excellent play, posting 32 points on 11-of-17 from the field, while center Slaughter won the battle of big-time centers, securing 12 points, 15 rebounds, six steals and an all-important seven blocked shots. On the side of Blazer5 Gaming, it was the two MVPS who did most of the work, with Mama and OneWildWalnut combining for 48 of the team’s 62 total points in the losing effort.

The Blazers completely turned the tide in Game 2, ultimately pulling away from their opposition by the end of the third quarter. While the final score saw Blazer5 secure a 76-64 victory, it really wasn’t that close, as the team held a healthy margin for much of the contest. OOC Slim was the culprit behind the breakout Game 2, scoring 11 of team-high 24 points in the first quarter off a bevy of mid-range jumpers. LavishPhenom and Mama Im Dat Man would make sure the series would head to a Game 3 after combining to score 13 of the team’s 21 third-quarter points, as four different members of Blazer5 Gaming would ultimately finish with double-digit point totals.

While Game 1 saw the Blazers hold a slim lead for much of the contest, and an even larger advantage through Game 2, the final game between these two teams saw neither hold more than a three-point lead at the end of any quarter. The tight-knit affair largely came down to the heroics of two players, Mama Im Dat Man for Blazer5 Gaming, and Slaughter for Warriors Gaming Squad.

The Blazer5 point guard would finish with a series-high 34 points off a scintillating 14-of-20 from the field, but it was the final shot of the night that will leave Blazer5 fans with a bitter taste. Off an excellent backdoor pick, the star point guard was left with a wide open shot at the buzzer that would have sent the Blazers home with an upset win, only for the non-greened shot to rattle out and into the friendly hands of Warriors Gaming Squad MVP, Slaughter. The center was instrumental throughout the win, particularly down the stretch, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but more importantly, but he more importantly kept OneWildWalnut off the glass, forcing the Season 1 MVP to just nine rebounds, a series-low, and stomping out any chance at second-chance scores.

The Warriors will face off against the winner of Kings Guard Gaming vs. Knicks Gaming on Friday during the semifinals of THE TURN, powered by AT&T.