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 The first Quarterfinal game was the Chicago Dragons WW against the NY RL Cruisers. These two teams also met last year in the QF’s, with the Cruisers able to move to the Final Four in Philly. The Wing Wor guys had been looking forward to this showdown since last May. The Cruisers game plan was the same as last year’s as they began by feeding the ball to the voracious interior tandem of George Chan (7 pts, 3-4 ft) and Tony Hu (14 pts, 11 rebs, 4-5 ft). The halfcourt pace didn’t really seem to favor either team, as both teams seemed content to battle it out. Chicago got going, as Damean Clinton (15 pts, 5-6 ft) and Pat Chin (12 pts, 2 three-pointers) alternated possessions on offense, and their lead at the half was 22-16. At the start of the second half, Tony of the Cruisers was just too monstrous for the Dragons to hold down any longer. He was unstoppable, and equally unselfish as he passed out of double teams for open 3-ball looks from CB Liu (8 pts, 2 triples) and Stan Yeung (3 pts, 3 assists). The Cruisers grabbed an 11 point lead and looked like they could pull away in much the same fashion as last year. With their backs against the wall, Chicago did the unheard of, and inserted guard Brian Hale to check Hu. By using his strength and low center of gravity to prevent Tony from getting where he wanted, the smooth offensive flow of NY was interrupted. Chicago chipped away slowly and the lead was down to 5 with about a minute to go. Center Patrick Chin sank 2 ft’s to make it 40-37 in favor of NY with 30 seconds to go. That was followed by a Cruiser miscommunication, and an Andrew Tsai 3-pointer (his first triple of the game), as the score was tied 40-40. The Cruisers got the ball back but Chicago’s physical defense got them a possession with about 10 ticks left. Damean Clinton went to the hoop but missed, and the game was going into an extra session. The Dragons won the tap, and Clinton finished an old fashioned 3-point play. After that, the Cruisers missed and were forced to foul the rest of the way. Wing Wor made 7/8 in OT to seal the deal. Chicago Dragons 50, NY RL Cruisers 42 in a well played game by both teams.
When the #4 Toronto Dragons (4-0) and the #12 Boston Hurricanes AAU (3-1) tipped off, it was a good bet that it would be a close game. These teams have met numerous times over the years and it has always a been nailbiter. For some reason, these two storied squads always meet in big games, and their personnel just seems to cause great matchups. Boston looked to have the deeper bench, and they pushed the pace in the first half. It was really neck and neck the whole half, as Boston distributed the ball to everyone for good shots. AAU’s Maneikis brothers were tough at both ends of the court, and unselfish on offense. Toronto on the other hand, relied on the penetration and creativity of high flying Kenny Ao (17 pts, 3-3 ft). The score was knotted at 20 midway through. Charles (16 pts, 3 treys) & Greg Maneikis (8 pts, 2 steals) were a dominant presence for the Canes in the backcourt, and the Canadians were lucky there wasn’t another brother to contend with. Twenty year old 2-guard Andrew Suen came on strong for the Dragons, calmly hitting 2 big three-pointers of his own. Boston was forced to foul at the end, and Toronto hit the big ones when they counted. Boston missed two golden opportunities as the clock ran down. Ricky Chan fouled out for the Canes, and all the momentum went the Dragons’ way. The game really could have gone either way, but the Dragons emerged with a 42-38 win and moved to the Final Four for the 3rd time in club history.
 The game between the #2 Seattle Bladerunners and the #10 Arizona Desert Jade was an unfortunate matchup for both teams so early, as this game was a rematch of the Championship game from 2008. It would definitely have a different look this year though, as Arizona was without the big Hwang brothers. Coach Ed Yee of Desert Jade knew that their best shot would be find mismatches on the perimeter and then utilize a drive/dish philosophy. By distributing their shots fairly evenly between Phil Heu Weller (9 pts, 1 trey), Dave Clarke (7 pts, 1 triple), Steve Chang (12 pts, 6-6 ft’s), and Sam Luong (9 pts, 1 triple), Arizona prevented the Bladerunners from keying in on any one player. On the other side, Seattle went with their bread and butter- as 6-4 multitime MVP Jim Shih (14 points, 4-4 ft) was peerless on the low blocks. Whenever Desert Jade double or triple teamed Shih down low, Wesley Hsu (14 pts, 3 assists) and Austin Yuen (9 pts, 1 three-pointer) were able to convert on their open looks. The score wavered to and fro, as neither team was ever able to get more than a 4 point lead. At the end of the game with only seconds to play, Arizona had the ball and a 1-point lead. Arizona just needed to inbound the ball and then hit the free throws. Seattle placed lanky 6-7 Kyle Kiang (NACBA Top 25) on the inbounder, and the move paid off as Kyle snatched the rock. Seattle elected not to call a timeout, and moved upcourt with the ball in the care of Austin Yuen. Austin got some isolation against the AZDJ man to man, and went to the rack. What looked like a big hole suddenly closed up on Yuen, and he passed the ball out to pure shooter Tim Wang for a three with time running down. Tim released the ball, and Desert Jade got the block. The basketball flew towards the lane, and 6-3 G Wesley Hsu somehow got his mitts on the ball. He got off a quick shot that hit the front left rim, bounced off the backboard, and fell through the hoop with .5 seconds to play. Seattle was up 42-41 and Arizona called timeout as they were looking for a Doug Flutie type ending. Arizona took the ball in at the baseline, and heaved it 70 feet down towards their basket, and yet again Kyle Kiang came up with a big play and intercepted the ball as time ran out. The Seattle Bladerunners pulled out another thriller.
 The #3 Norcal Hoopaholics would face the retooled #6 Washington CYC A squad in the last remaining Quarterfinal. The Hoopaholics were looking pretty good all weekend long, and were poised to reach the Final Four once again, so long as the seedings held true. CYC meanwhile, was also looking to head back to the Final Four for the 6th time since 1999. Ryan Dunn (16 pts, 7 rebs) of Norcal was simply on fire, while teammates Ross Lim (4 pts, 2-3 ft, 2 assists) and Conlan Kwong (2-3 threeballs, 2 assists) were also clicking early. The team formerly known as the SF Duke looked great. The Norcal guys were getting to the rim at their leisure, as the smaller CYC guards just weren’t tall enough to impede their progress. But Washington was effective when they had the ball too, as the score seesawed back and forth. Hank Huang (9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal) fell into a rhythm for Washington at just the right time, and DC switched their lineup to become bigger on the boards. The move worked, as CYC began to pull away. A scary moment occurred as Cali was being pressured in the backcourt and lobbed the ball up to center Henry Hong near midcourt. Henry and guard Jeffrey Lee of DC collided midair, and somehow the bigger man got the worst of the deal, separating his shoulder and hitting his head on the court as he flipped over. After a few minutes, Hong’s teammates assisted him to the bench to await paramedics and the game moved forward. Play resumed, but then only moments later, all madness broke loose as Hong unexpectedly passed out on the sidelines, and ambulances were on the scene. Henry was rushed to the ER, and the game was postponed till Monday morning, with the score at the half Washington 26, Norcal 17. By Monday at 945 am, both teams were back in action (although Henry Hong sat this one out pending a return to SF for further medical examination). The Hoopaholics came out with a passion and tried to trap at every opportunity, anointing 6-4 Dennis Yuen (8 points, 8 rebs, 2 assists) as the one who would wreak havoc with his long arms and cat like reflexes. The strategy worked at first, as CYC didn’t expect the pressure. But the calming play of the Lee brothers (Jeffrey and Chris) settled CYC down and Washington was able to pass out of the traps and nail down open shots. Norcal needed to start fouling early, but Washington CYC made 15 of 17 free throws in the second half to win 56-43. Jeffrey Lee (12 pts, 4 dimes), Huy Nguyen (13 pts, 2-2 ft, 2 steals) and Daniel Liu (12 pts, 11 rebs) led CYC A.
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