MONTVALE, NJ: One More Week Until The Real Fun Begins

With our field of six playoff teams set, it’s time to say goodbye to two squads who aren’t likely to be missed.

We still have one more week to go in the regular season, but this much we know – the Super Splash Brothers and Bergen Tropics are done. While both disappointments have yet to sniff the win column, let’s make no mistake – the Splash Bros are much more of a disaster.

In what would have easily been the shocker of the season, the Splash Brothers got out to an early lead and played it close versus the unbeaten Ferrall Ballerz before finally fading at the end. Lazy defense allowed Matt Bello to get easy buckets and Emilio Montina to come out of nowhere and spark his team. Even so, the Ballerz figured it out eventually.

Team MVP (by default) Brad Mufson got his workout in before the game with Ferrall by his side. You’ve gotta feel for a guy who doesn’t know until game time which (if any) of his teammates will show. See what he had to say before his latest loss.



At least the Bergen Tropics have enough guys to field a team on a regular basis. It’s too bad they never got to face the Splash Brothers. That would have made them feel better about themselves.

The problem seems to be that the Tropics can’t get their act together all at once. In their latest loss to Old School, Alex Benisatto was hitting from the outside, but Alexis Drullinsky was nowhere to be found. The Tropics were absolutely destroyed on the boards. If they come back next season, maybe they should add Mufson. He could at least help out in that department.

Rewind a few weeks and it seemed that USDA Prime might fall into the aforementioned troubled category. Well, that’s out the window. Perhaps RUNt is now filling that role. They just got steamrolled by 20 and are now under .500. Did USDA simply catch them napping? Either way, no excuses. These guys have to figure it out, and soon. Mike Kern isn’t walking through that door.

When the playoffs roll around, don’t sleep on Just Ball either. Lane Train just couldn’t hang with them this week. Just Ball has flown under the radar with an easy schedule. Now they need to be considered contenders. Interestingly, the Ballerz won’t play them at all…unless the two meet in the postseason. Look out.