EBA Summer League Semifinals and Championship Standouts

Colby Giacubeno August 8, 2019 @ 05:52 AM

Last night, the first year of the EBA Summer League came to a close with the semifinals and championship game. All three games were tightly contested and many players stepped up when their team needed it most to gain momentum. Let’s take a look at the standouts from the contests. John Godinez | 5’10 | EBA ‘20 In their semifinal game against the Wolfpack, Godinez was the catalyst for EBA’s first half comeback. The rising senior took control of the game and helped his team to an eight-point lead at halftime after trailing 2-9 out of the gate. He helped lock a spot in the championship game with his 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists. In the championship game, Godinez was more of a facilitator and play maker for others as he compiled five assists in a loss. Jordan Strickland | 6’4 | EBA ‘20 It took the first 10 minutes of the game to for Strickland to find his groove, but once he did, EBA was a finely-tuned machine. He was a force attacking the basket from the wing and high-post, using his athleticism to finish over contesting defenders. The 6-foot-4 rising senior finished with yet another double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds. In the championship game, he logged another double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Donovan Leak | 5’8 | Wolfpack ‘23 Leak did a nice job of pushing the pace for the Wolfpack despite their semifinal loss. The 5-foot-8 point guard finished with a team-high 11 points, majority of which came in transition lay ups. Marlon Lewis | 6’4 | Spartans ‘21 Like clockwork, Lewis led the Spartans with ____. He did a nice job of finding seams in the Pointers’ zone defense and aggressively attacking the basket. When he wasn’t finishing contested lay ups, he was drawing fouls and converting from the charity stripe. When in transition, Lewis was a bull in a china shop, bouncing defenders off him on his way to the rim. Tyriel Williams | 6’1 | Spartans ‘22 Williams had his best game of the season with 15 points. Despite losing in the semifinal, the slashing guard did a nice job of finishing in the paint and forcing the defense into bad positions. In transition, Williams had one thing in mind, get to the rim. His aggression set the tone for others to be aggressive as well. Ramon Villanueva | 6’4 | Pointers ‘21 Villanueva is a calming presence for this Pointers team. His efficient scoring and good decision-making with the ball opens up so much offensively. Put that together with his willingness to crash the glass on both ends, it makes the Pointers had to ever truly put away. In the first game, Villanueva did all of that and then more with a stat line of 15 points and seven rebounds. The 6-foot-4 wing got to work early in the championship. He set the tone to ultimately led the Pointers to a win with 17 points and eight rebounds. Timmy Adedire | 6’3 | Pointers ‘20 In the semifinal game against the Spartans, Adedire was by far the hardest worker on the floor. His stat line of 12 points and 13 rebounds helps prove that. His effort throughout the semifinal game is what ultimately game his team the edge. Six of his 13 points came off of offensive rebounds and helped keep the momentum his team’s way. In the championship game, Adedire had a flawless performance finishing with another double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Shein Allen | 6’0 | Pointers ‘20 Allen was the key role player who had significant impact in the semifinal win. Nine of his 13 points came on crucial possessions when the Spartans would cut the lead to single digits. The Pointers desperately needed a role player to step up in order to advance to the championship, and Allen was that guy. Kevin Lewis | 6’2 | EBA ‘20 Lewis made his presence felt in the championship, when EBA needed a scorer most. The senior transfer scored 21 points to lead EBA in a loss and did so in an efficient manner. Lewis moved extremely well without the ball and allowed Godinez to play-make and find small windows to fit the ball in. Lewis also had an admirable performance on the offensive glass, which was another way he found close looks at the rim.