Semi Final Recap

In a rematch of last year's championship game, Team Motivated avenged their 2011 defeat with a win over Syracuse Elite 93-73 Friday night. The win puts Team Motivated in the championship game for the third straight year.

Syracuse Elite stayed within striking distance for the first half. King of Kings Defensive player of the year and second-team all King of Kings player Chris Martin of Syracuse Elite had a surprisingly explosive offensive first half, keeping his team in the game at halftime when the score was 52-49.

The third quarter is when Team Motivated went on their run. They came out after the half on an 8-0 run, and their lead only went below double digits once mid-way through the third. Team Motivated spent the rest of the game gradually adding to their lead, eventually putting the game out of reach.

In the second semi-final, Upstate Swagger used a huge second half surge to dismantle the Bless Ballers 74-47. The win puts Upstate Swagger in the finals against Team Motivated Sunday evening at 5:00 P.M.

Throughout the first half the game stayed close. After Upstate Swagger opened up the game on a 16-0 run, the Bless Ballers pulled within 6 at halftime. That was as close as the Bless Ballers would get.

Upstate Swagger opened up the third quarter determined to blow the lid off the game. The smothering defense of Upstate Swagger was too much for the league’s second leading scorer Cornelius Vines to handle. Vines and the Bless Ballers were held to 3 points in the quarter.

The fourth quarter was played in a much less intense manor. The number one seed looks to get reserves Nick Grimmer and Jared Sudderly back for the championship game, who were absent during the semi-final. Upstate Swagger and Team Motivated will square off Sunday, August 12th at 5:00 P.M. to determine the winner of the 2012 King of Kings Men's Summer Pro-Am.