Gasterra Flames lifts series to a 3-0 lead in the dutch championship finals

In the third game of the final play off series in the Netherlands, Gasterra Flames de topteam of the dutch league extended their lead to 3-0.  The team of coach Marco van den Berg is ready to close the serie on saturday when they head to Bergen op Zoom for the fourth game of the series.

The 84 -79 win however didnt come easy for the Flames. The Flames got off to a really good start in the first quarter. They got of 19 shots in the first quarter where the Giants only got of 7 field goal attempt! Especially Matt Bauscher had an exceptionally good quarter finishing, scoring 11 of the 24 first quarter points. In the second quarter Groningen kept pressuring the defense of Bergen op Zoom by running the foor well and getting to the basket with confidence. They extended their lead to 15 points halfway the second quarter. But then coach Braal of the Giants found a way to get his team back into the game. With a 0 -10 run they got back into the game cutting the lead of the Flames to 10 at half time.

When both teams came out of the lockerroom Bergen op Zoom was ready to show the fans of Groningen that the game wasnt over yet. They continued what they had started in the second quarter and made a 6 -17 run in the beginning of the second half taking the lead in the game. In this part of the game the defense of the hometeam had difficulty stopping Brandon Griffin inside as he scored basket after basket in the run of the Giants. Gradually WCAA Giants extended their lead, until Daniel Faris got his second unsportsmanlike foul with 1.38 at the clock and a 4 point lead in the third quarter and was sent off by the referees. The last quarter became very intense as the crowd in Groningen was really getting into the the game.  Resulting in a tied game at 73 -73 with 3.30 minutes on the clock.  At the end of the game it was Tim Blue that lead the hometeam to the victory with two major threepointers against his former teammates. Coming Saturday is the fourth game that could lead the team from Groningen to their third championship in the history of the club.

Scores: Gasterra Flames Robby Bostain 19, Matt Bauscher 18, Tim Blue 15, Jason Ellis 10

                WCAA Giants Tyrone Sally 21, Brandon Griffin 16, Jordan Collins 12, Daniel Faris 11

Gasterra Flames beats WCAA Giants in first game of the finals

In first game of the finals series of the Dutch Championship, the nr. 1 seed Gasterra Flames made it clear to everybody that they are ready to take the title. In a game where World Class Aviation Academy Giants never had a real shot at the victory the team from Groningen was superior. In the first quarter the Giants already had 12 turnovers due to good pressure defense by Groningen. In the second quarter Groningen continued to keep up the pressure offensively as well as defensively which resulted in a foul trouble for Bergen op Zoom. The half time score ended up being 41 -23. In the second half the Flames continued to keep the pressure on the Giants extending their lead gradually. Especially Tim Blue showed his former team what his skills are and ended up as the man of the match scoring 23 points for the Flames. The scoreboard showed a 89 – 65, which was an easy win for Groningen. Tuesday the 18th may the team suit up for the 2nd game in the series. WCAA Giants needs to shift to another level of play to have a chance against a very strong and disciplined Gasterra Flames. In the end its very hard to win games when you turn over the ball 27 times, shoot 39% from the field and 25% from 3point range.

Scores: Gasterra Flames Tim Blue 23, Steve Ross 17, Jason Dourisseau 16, Matt Bauscher 14
World Class Aviation Academy Giants Bryan Defares 13, Daniel Faris 10, Tyrone Sally 10

Gasterra Flames advances to the finals in the Netherlands

Gasterra Flames reached the finals of the dutch playoffs after they beat ZZ Leiden in the fifth and deciding game of the semi-finals.

In a soldout Martiniplaza (4400), the homecourt of the Flames, the atmoshpere was electrifying at the start of the game. The first quarter the Flames got of to a good start, but due to the outstanding effort of Seamus Boxley Leiden stayed in the game. He scored 11 of the 13 first quarter points of Leiden. The second quarter Leiden rallied back to close the first half with only a 2 point despite a great defensive effort of Jason Dourriseau who kept the leading scorer of the league Danny Gibson to only 4 points in the first half closing the half 36 -34.

The second half the Flames controlled the game and especially Robby Bostain showed his leadership by leading his team by example. He fought big battles with Danny Gibson, winning almost every battle he fought. They got physical several times in the second half, expressing the importance and the intensity of the game. After coach Toon van Helfteren of ZZ Leiden got a technical foul for talking to the referees, Flames got a chance to make a little run. In the fourth quarter the closed the game, with support of their big home crowd, by staying cool on the free throw. On part of their game that has bothered them for the whole series. The game ended in a 80 -70 win for Groningen.

Looking forward to the finals, coach Marco van den Berg needs to make his team ready for the tension playing play off basketball, since tension seems to be the only factor that stands between Gasterra Flames and the title.

Scores: Gasterra Flames Robby Bostain 23, Tim Blue 19, Matt Bauscher 15
ZZ Leiden Seamus Boxley 19, Monta McGhee 14, Conor Grace 12