The Celtics have done it, again!! They have captured the National Old School Basketball League's Championship Title for Season XVI on 30 July 2016 against the NHA Hawks. Please give it up for the Hawks for their outstanding season. They are the Western Division Champions and former Champions of NOSBL XII.
The Celtics have won NOSBL titles from seasons: II, III, VII, IX, XI, XIII, and XV. As you can see, this is their second back-to-back title run. Can they 3-peat? That is a big question for this highly successful team as new players enter the league and trades taking place to win the championship title.
The league requires each team to have a minimum of seven and not more than twelve players. While most teams are building rosters of 12, the Celtics always seem to take the hard road by selecting a maximum of eight players. They trust that Al Wilson (Coach/Player) will always be there to represent the team and guide them through tough games. That is a compliment for a team of players who have played very high levels of basketball and other sports. There is a price to playing for the Celtics. You must accept your role (offensively and defensively) and be prepared to play an entire game without a timeout. Al Wilson, Tim Sanks, and Jerel Jackson represent the glue and foundation of the team. If you are willing to play your role and give your all, CHAMPIONSHIP is somewhere in your near future.
Saturday's game was a must-win for the NHA Hawks. They lost Game One on Thursday, 28 July 2016, 60 - 81. The Celtics do not like to play three games, so being up by one, the pressure was definitely on the Hawks to play a full game of hard-knocks basketball. Anything else would end their season.
The starters for the NHA Hawks were: #21 Frank Wilcox, #34 Ernest Adams, #24 Quentin Leonard, #11 Kenyatta Hardge, and #23 Yohance Thompson.
The starters for the Celtics were: #24 Jerel Jackson, #23 Tim Sanks, #2 Stephen Woodson, #15 Christopher None, and #1 Al Wilson.
The officials were "Ice" Elliott and Willie Smith.
The Celtics won the tip-off and missed their first shot attempt. The Hawks responded with a 2-point score from their leader, Quentin "Quick" Leonard. The Hawks would go on an 8 - 0 run before Tim Sanks scored 2-points to get the Celtics into the game. A combination of tenacious defense, attacking basketball, and poor shooting from the Celtics allowed the Hawks to dominate the first half. Quentin Leonard attacked the Celtics with 15 points along with 9 from Ernest Adams, 4 points from Roderick Williams, and 3 points from Kenyatta Hardge. The Celtics picked up nine team fouls to go along with their flat shooting. The Celtics tried to stay close by causing the Hawks to call their first timeout, at 5:28, with a score of 20 - 11. We got to watch the Hawks prepare to take the championship series to a game three when they closed out the first half with a 31 - 16 point lead. Though the Hawks were leading, they had problems keeping all of the players focused on the task-at-hand. I noticed it, Brandon Thomas noticed it, and I am sure the Celtics noticed it.
When the second half started, the Celtics picked up their defense and Tim Sanks picked up the scoring to go on a 32 - 16 point run to tie the score at 47. With 12:49, remaining in the game, the Hawks were still leading the Celtics 46 - 32. The Celtics held the Hawks to 2-points for 10-minutes. Kenyatta Hardge was forced to pick up the scoring, for the Hawks, because the Celtics began to target Quentin Leonard. Hardge went from scoring 3 points in the first half to 12 points in the second half. Leonard dropped from 15 points, in the first half, to 9 points. No other Hawk volunteered to take charge other than Roderick Williams with 4 points and Yohance Thompson with 2 points. With 2:27 remaining in the game, the Celtics had taken a 54 - 48 point lead. The Hawks called their last timeout with 44.8 seconds remaining in the game. They were down 64 - 54 with very little time to operate a comeback. The Hawks committed 15 team fouls that sent the Celtics to the foul line on each foul. There were no advantages left for the Hawks as they prepared to fly South. Tim Sanks led the Celtics with 30 second half points. He was joined by Steve Woodson with 10 points, Jerel Jackson with 9 points, Ralph Mathews with 2 points, and Christopher None with 2 points. The Celtics outscored the Hawks 53 - 27 in the second half to capture their second consecutive NOSBL Championship victory with a score of 69 - 58.
The scorers for the Celtics were: #23 Tim Sanks with 36 points, #2 Steve Woodson with 10 points, #24 Jerel Jackson with 9 points, #00 Ralph Mathews with 5 points, #22 Johnny Vasquez with 5 points, and #15 Christopher None with 4 points.
The scorers for the NHA Hawks were: #24 Quentin Leonard with 24 points, #11 Kenyatta Hardge with 15 points, #34 Ernest Adams with 9 points, #25 Roderick Williams with 8 points, and #23 Yohance Thompson with 2 points.