On 30 June 2016, the Kingdom Ballers were the home team against the defending champions: Celtics.  They played the second game, commencing at 8:00 P.M. at North Highland Assembly of God's Church Gymnasium.  We expected a tough battle and we got a tough battle from two teams that want the NOSBL National Title.  The Kingdom Ballers is definitely one of the biggest teams in the league and filled with talent.  The Celtics has more winnings than any team in the history of the NOSBL with seven championships.  If you want to win the title, you must understand and attempt to match what makes the Celtics so successful.  The Celtics is one of the smaller teams, this season, but they are still getting it done as they lead the Eastern Division with a 15 - 4 regular season record.

The starters, for the Kingdom Ballers, were:  #11 Wason Davis, #24 Tony Campbell, #22 Antonio Harris, #96 Shederal Hughes, and #0 Willie Tennyson.

The starters, for the Celtics, were: #24 Jerel Jackson, #23 Tim Sanks, #1 Al Wilson, #2 Steve Woodson, and #15 Christopher None.

The officials were Ice Elliott and Roydell Smith.

The Kingdom Ballers won the tip-off with a fresh start.  The players were on a mission and the team wanted this special victory to show they had arrived.  The early minutes of the game produced a tie at 4; the Kingdom Ballers taking the lead at 5; the Celtics tying the score at 6; and the Kingdom Ballers making a run at 9 with a 3-pointer.  The Kingdom Ballers hit the Celtics with speed and accuracy to capture a 28 - 9 lead.  They had a pep in their steps that exuded the will to win.  Somewhere, during that amazing run, the Kingdom Ballers forgot they were playing against the defending champions.  The Celtics' did not panic and did not call a timeout to calm the attack.  They used the "Rope-a-dope" and gave the Kingdom Ballers the opportunity to throw their best punches.  The Kingdom Ballers connected on seven 3-pointers and the fans went wild!  We were amazed at what the Kingdom Ballers were doing and so were they.  The Celtics watched all of us react to the domination of the Kingdom Ballers, then they came off the ropes with a plan to retaliate.  They had enough of the Kingdom Ballers' "Six" dropping it like it was hot.  The Ballers' Shederal Hughes led his team with 9 points, #11 Wason Davis with 7 points, #0 Willie Tennyson with 6 points, #24 Tony Campbell with 6 points, #22 Antonio Harris with 5 points, and #3 Christopher Mathis with 3 points.  By the time the clock reached 6:48, the Celtics had closed the gap to 28 - 21, and forced the Kingdom Ballers to request their first timeout.  Now, this is where it started to get interesting.  The Kingdom Ballers were ready to showoff their individual talents to rise to "Hero" status and the Celtics were cementing as a team to attack the Kingdom Ballers' targets.  With 2:00 remaining in the first half, the Celtics tied the score at 37.  The Kingdom Ballers went up 1-point with a free throw.  That is where they would stay for the rest of the half as the Celtics cruised by with a 43 - 38 first half lead.  The Celtics "Six" were led by #24 Jerel "The Stealth" Jackson with 9 points (three 3-pointers), #22 Johnny Vasquez with 8 points, #2 Steve Woodson with 8 points (two 3-pointers), #23 Tim Sanks with 6 points, #15 Christopher None with 6 points, and #00 Ralph Mathews with 6 points.  The Celtics committed four team fouls and the Kingdom Ballers committed three.  The Celtics did use any time outs.

The second half started with the Celtics leading by five points and ready to go.  The Kingdom Ballers reassembled with their starting lineup and were ready to rumble, again.  Their efforts to recapture the lead and the Celtics mission to attack their targets created another half of excitement.    As the Celtics were playing "Steady as you go", the Kingdom Ballers were getting tired and not reacting as fast.  The Captain of the Kingdom Ballers ignored the signs and failed to use his bench to keep the team fresh.  He wanted to win and attempted to "Squeeze blood out of a turnip", but that would not work against a seasoned team - like the Celtics.  With Shederal Hughes and Willie Tennyson "filling it" the team was off-balanced and out of focus.  Shederal Hughes (#96) scored 12 points and Willie Tennyson scored 12 points.  There were no picks and no efforts to free up Tony Campbell as an offensive threat.  Tony Campbell was held to three second half points.  Four Kingdom Ballers' starters played without a substitution.  Shooting was fine, but hustling back on defense was faltering.  The Celtics' fought hard to maintain the 5-point lead they started the half with.  At 6:38 remaining in the game, the Celtics held a 55 - 62 lead that caused the Kingdom Ballers to call a timeout.  Both teams continued to battle, but fatigue was becoming a factor for the Kingdom Ballers.  There was only so much they could do without a substitution and playing from behind.  The Celtics are not in the business of being empathetic or sympathetic.  They are in the business of winning as they included a seventh scorer.  The Celtics were determined to keep the Kingdom Ballers on the floor by not using any of their own time outs.  Jerel Jackson led the Celtics with 8 points, Steve Woodson with 7 points, Tim Sanks with 6 points, Johnny Vasquez with 4 points, Ralph Mathews with 4 points, Al Wilson with 3 points, and Christopher None with 2 points.  I commend the Kingdom Ballers for the tenacity and grinding they displayed, but they failed to overcome the 5-point deficit that ended their first half.  With 42.7 seconds remaining, the Kingdom Ballers called their final timeout with the Celtics leading 75 - 70.  The Celtics ended the game on two free throws that defeated the Kingdom Ballers 77 - 70.  The Kingdom Ballers scored 32 second half points and the Celtics scored 34.  This was a very exciting game.

The scorers for the Celtics were:  #24 Jerel Jackson with 17 points, #2 Steve Woodson with 15 points, #23 Tim Sanks with 12 points, #22 Johnny Vasquez with 12 points, #00 Ralph Mathews with 10 points, #15 Christopher None with 8 points, and Al Wilson with 3 points.

The scorers for the Kingdom Ballers were:  #96 Shederal Hughes with 23 points, #0 Willie Tennyson with 18 points, #24 Tony Campbell with 9 points, #11 Wason Davis with 9 points, #22 Antonio Harris with 8 points, and #3 Christopher Mathis with 3 points.