The U.H. continue to roll in the West, while Jon Burgio and Moe Bailey put on a performance for the ages in the East. 

Buffalo, NY- After eight weeks of play six teams are still fighting for the final playoff spot in the West and five teams are battling for a playoff spot in the East entering the final week of play.  With one week to go, there are more positions at play than in any prior season and for the first time ever a team enters the final week with a chance to go undefeated as the defending champion VeryAggressiveGuys take on The U.H. with both the chance to play spoiler the win and lock up the final playoff spot in the West and keep the three-peat alive.

The first two games of the day featured four of the five 2-5 teams battling it out for the final couple playoff spots.  The first game featured PMB, who got back into the win column to keep their post season hopes alive with a big win over White Men Can’t Jump.  Mike Gumpah had what was perhaps his best Kronies Jamfest performance ever, dropping 25 points to carry PMB over WMCJ, 81-69.  In Game 2 the VeryAggressiveGuys squared off against Healthy Buffalo.  Lenny Frears made his return to the lineup but it wasn’t enough to carry Healthy Buffalo over the defending champs.  Ben Walkow (23 points)and Jasen Ineson (21 points)continued to pour on the points offensively to help carry the load in the absence of Mike Bennett, while Healthy Buffalo was left questioning the commitment of scoring leader Shawn Dotzler after he missed four out of his last five games.  In a season that once looked so promising to both teams, Healthy Buffalo now needs a miracle to sneak into the playoffs, while the VeryAggressiveGuys control their own destiny with the chance to sneak in with a win over The U.H. in the final week.

In the 3pm game Concrete fought their way back into contention with a win over the Flint Tropics, who have suffered a late season slide after a hot start.  Al Ahmed led all scorers with 20 points in the win.  In the 4pm game Points In A Hurry came within seconds of delivering The U.H. their first loss, but with nine seconds remaining Adam Brasky couldn’t get a good look for the three to tie the game.  Travis Craig (28 points) and Andrew Alfieri (20 points) continued to look dominant in the win and have The U.H. dreaming of carrying the 36″ Kronies Jamfest trophy at mid-court come playoff time.

The 5pm game was rich with Kronies Jamfest history as former Ebony & Ivory teammates Will Castro and Randy Martin found themselves in the unusual position as opponents, battling it out on opposing teams for the first time in BSWA history.  Swagged Out came into the game with a remarkable four game winning streak, while the Geeks N’ Sneaks were desperate for a win and a chance to lock up one of the final playoff spots.  Shawn Satarian lit it up for the Geeks, dropping a game high 33 points, but the one-two punch of Brian Roddey (33 points) and Jerry Shanley (27 points) was too much as they picked up the slack in the absence of captain Mike Cepeda who missed the game for undisclosed reasons.

The 6pm game was a battle between Western Conference powerhouses as the Billies took on Carlos Hawkins and Reloaded.  Carlos Dawkins continued his reign in the West scoring a game high 29 points, making his chase for the scoring title a near certainty entering the final week and delivering another victory for Reloaded who squeaked out the 60-57 point victory.

In the first Eastern Conference action of the week, Marc Antecki led the Hoosiers to victory in a grudge match against Norfolk N’ Chance, which was the first time Bryan Dorothy played against former teammate Marc Antecki after his much publicized departure from the Hoosiers in Kronies Jamfest 4.  Norfolk N’ Chance kept it close in the first half behind a nearly unstoppable offensive attack by Dean Antalik who had 18 of his 21 points in the first, but couldn’t keep up in the second as big man Brian Conley had a career night pouring in a season high 18 points to complement captain Marc Antecki (19 points) and freewheeling Cordell Torres (24 points).

In the 8pm game Ugot Kirbstomped locked up their second win of the season, despite the absence of captain and motivational leader Kevin Kirby.  Efrian Rodriguez continued to make his mark on Buffalo’s #1 basketball league with a game high 28 points, while Terence Dill (13 points), threw down one thunderous dunk over his Spartan opponent and almost got another monster dunk over his opponent but was called for the offensive foul.  The loss spoiled an excellent performance by Danny Glover of the Spartans, who scored a season high 25 points, while continuing to establish himself as one of the leagues top shooters from downtown.

In the 9pm game IMPROV shocked first place UPB with an all round display that may have been the first time they have displayed their true potential.  Darrik Bloomfield threw down a couple big dunks on his way to scoring 22 points and newcomer Aaron Davis chipped in another 21 points.  UPB was led by league leading scorer Shane Canahai (25 points) and UPB rookie Adam Weir (29 points) in what was only their second loss of the season.

In the final game of the night Court Justice and Sponge Bob Square Pants put on a show for the fans, in a high scoring overtime affair.  Moe Bailey broke the Kronies Jamfest single game scoring record with a Jordan-esque 49 point performance, including 15 points in the final three minutes of regulation.  But it was Jon Burgio (38 points) and Sponge Bob Square Pants that came away with the win.  After nearly letting the game slip away down the stretch, they managed to narrowly capture the OT win, 100-91.

This Sunday is the final week of the regular season as teams will get one more chance to polish up their games for the playoffs.  After a quick review it appears that none of the 21 teams are mathematically from post season play entering the final week.  Who will make the cut and move on to acheive their dreams as Kronies Jamfest champions?  Find out live this Sunday at the Knights of Columbus.  It’s now officially time to put up or shut up.