TEMPLE SUMMER 2004

The anticipation for the summer Temple tournament had been building since April, when the Bullets captured the AA silver title, and now were finally able to challenge themselves on the brightest stage. Everything had come together nicely, with two additions, Max Sinthorntham, an all-district, ultra consistent smart swingman, and Anthony Mills, an unselfish, incredibly athletic big man. They joined Brian Tran, Krizzio Washington, Billy Kim, Scott Yun, Steve Lee, Boo Kim, Alex Yun and Dennis Kim, to form the best Mens Bullets Team yet.

The schedule did not feature some of the brutal start times of the past, and the first game was a relatively easy win vs NY Young Life Rockits. The bullets pushed out to an early lead, went on a few runs, and dealt with the quickness and organization of the Rockits, countering, with solid man to man defense and Krizzio Washington's unstoppable play inside and out. The final score 47-42, belied a relatively easy game. Scott Yun and Krizzio both were able to mark tallies on the dunk scoreboard.

The next game was the first true challenge, as Drexel Uptempo featured probably the best non-Bullet of the tournament, an 18 yr old guard that played inside and out. The team defense and communication of the Bullets broke down early and often, and the game was close throughout. As the defensive communication improved, Billy Kim performed his lock down magic and the Bullets were able to pull out a decisive victory that represented a major step up in the progress towards the top. Plus, Anthony had this sick dunk in a half court set, off one step.

The third game was again versus the venerable Ben Jung, and his Philly storm team. Again without their full squad, they were no match for the athletes of the Bullets, and they went down in a rout. It was a good game to recuperate and prepare for what looked like a long playoff run. The victory meant a one seed in the bracket, and the team was confident.

The first playoff game was versus a crazy samsun team, and one of their players just insisted on talking trash, even though his team was getting crushed. Krizzio was forced to respond by being completely unstoppable, inside and out, Brian Tran had to roll the ball under the dude's legs and the blowout win again was crucial in preparing for what looked like a few hard games on the road to the finals.

The semis were against defending NACBA champ, Boston hurricanes. Their mix of disciplined offense and team defense stood in stark contrast to the playground style of the bullets. The game was a struggle throughout, as Krizzio was neutralized by a bunch of player hating refs on offense, and the defense was handcuffed by terrible calls on the other end. The team played through this huge competitive disadvantage, but lack of teamwork and recognition down the stretch, combined with mental errors galore, resulted in an incredibly painful loss. Under pressure, the team resorted to their individual ways, and the result could be predicted. While the Hurricanes deserve credit for their stingy half court defense, desultory execution down the stretch was the primary culprit in this disappointing early exit. The NY young life Rockits made the final on the other side, and its clear how close the Bullets were to their first AA championship. The team continues to toil in their undisciplined ways. Will the team be able to turn it around?

*Krizzio Washington and Max Sinthortham were named to the All Tournament Team; Krizzio for his all-around individual brilliance, and Max for his consistent performance on both ends, shooting an estimated 65% from the field during day.