CYC Pre-NACIBT
April 26, 2003
The Pre-North American Chinese Invitational Basketball Tournament at LaSalle University introduced the young Bullets to the upper echelon of Asian-American basketball on the east coast. The team entered with aspirations of winning, as well as to understand where the Bullets stood among the elite. The squad assembled would be the strongest Bullets squad to date, with new pickups Ferdinand Bautista and Billy Kim, there was depth and talent at every position. The only questions seemed to be if the team could come together in time to win the tournament.
Unfortunately, the high hopes of the Bullets were jarringly awakened to real life, as Steve Lee, Boo Kim, and DC Shin were unable to attend the tournament due to pressing matters, and Seung Lee faced unfortunate circumstances in his commute, and the team was left with a skeleton of the potentially dominant team that had been assembled, with only 7 players, one of which was 15 year old Alex Yun. The team seemed to be in trouble.
The first test was against the Bullets natural rival, Princeton Ballers. According to scouting reports, Princeton would be the Bullet's main competition in placing in their pool. The scouting reports proved quite erroneous, as the Bullets starting five of Brian Edwards, Joe Kim, Billy Kim, Scott Yun, and Ferd Bautista forced turnover after turnover and the team ran out to a trademark 14-2 cushion. The result was never in doubt, the Bullets thumped the very overrated Princeton team by 30 points, and Penn again won the ivy league basketball title in impressive fashion.
The second game matched the Bullets versus the main competition in Pool A, an accomplished Drexel Uptempo Team. The young Bullets struggled to keep their intensity level high, and the game was close throughout. The Drexel team of veterans was solid yet unimpressive. The Bullets maintained their consistent outside shooting, with Brian, Billy, and Scott providing three pointers, Ferd holding down the paint, and Joe getting to the cup at will. The score was tight until Joe Kim decided to rep dirty jersey with some scores in the paint, creating shots for teammates, and crucial defensive plays to seal a close, yet surprisingly easy victory. With this win, team confidence was peaking, as Drexel was a top 4 team. The hyped competition proved not so stiff.
The third game was a non-competitive affair, as the Philly Suns B team provided little resistance to first place in Pool A, earning the Bullets a first round bye, and automatic entry into the gold playoffs semifinals. The team ran through the motions, with individuals scoring at will, and Alex Yun getting major gametime experience, as the 5 starters got extended minutes of rest.
The semifinal provided the Bullets with the test that they had signed up for, albeit four starters short, as Washington CYC A was the opponent. The four hour break plus some Pizza Rustica between the previous game seemed to sap the energy of the Bullets, and depth seemed to haunt the team throughout the game. The experienced, veteran CYC team set the tempo of the game, and the freewheeling style was slowed to a grinding halt, by a monotonous full court press. The team was visibly lacking energy as three pointers went awry, and moves to the basket seemed a step slow. Eventually CYC was able to pull away, but not before the young Bullets realized that this over-hyped CYC team was very beatable, and that with better organization, more rest, and the remaining starters, the Bullets can be the best. Joe Kim was named to the all-tournament team with an impressive display of slashing, scoring and defense. Ferd and Billy proved to be key additions, and the future of the Bullets looks very bright, as manifest destiny seemingly propels the team to the top of Asian basketball.