BAL News
Javion's Week 2 Review
May 29, 2026
Week 2 of the 2026 BBAL season has been nothing less than electrifying! From heated rivalries to down to the wire games, and even rookie sensations on the scene for our 6th season in history! Who do you think through two weeks has an early chance for some BBAL hardware this season?
8 Balls Roll In The Win Column
Due to precipitation concerns, our BBAL Sunday was held under the lights of Lancaster Catholic High School. However, both these teams came to play and rose to the challenge. This one was as gritty as you can get in an opening game. Both teams showcased their hustle and physicality for 40 minutes, which engaged the crowd as well.
For the Huskies, Eli Washington stole the show with his effortless ability to get to his spots, and create outlet points off turnovers. His aggressive playstyle however forced him into tough situations offensively at times, when he would give careless turnovers in favor of the 8 Balls. His turnovers were overshadowed by his performance of 12-17(70%) shooting from the field with 30 pts, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Behind Eli was Parker Wolfe with 13 pts and 8 rebounds. Chase Marquette and Crew Wells combined for 24 points in their 75 pt team performance. Turnovers were the downside for the Huskies as they turned the ball over 17 times opposed to their 6 times last week.
Now the 8 Balls, led by Julian Collazo and Jeffery Espinal. Early on the 8 Balls struggled with little to no consistency outside of Julian Collazo. But as we know in the basketball world and the BBAL world especially, it is always a game of runs. Towards the end of the first half and in the second half, Jeffery Espinal made his minutes count. Despite very efficient nights for both Espinal and Collazo, only one stole the show. Collazo’s vast majority of his production came from the first half scoring 21 points on 8-13 shooting(61%), 5 assists, and 4 forced TOs primarily being the recipient of Eli Washington’s turnovers. Espinal rolled his team into a week 2 dub with 25 points, shooting 8-12(67%) from the field and 50% from beyond the arc to will his team to victory. Their only other double-digit scorer was Rodney Ross with 11 points off the bench to secure a 80-75 win and a tally in the win column.
Wood Is Good In Dramatic Fashion
Similar themes apply for all of our games this week as this one made history, as well as leaving fans in suspense. An up and coming Tropics team faced off against the defending champion Woodpeckers. An absolute thriller was on our hands with this one.
The defending champions' production was easily distributed, overall. 5 players reached double digits for the reigning champs. Leading them was Joey McCracken with 15 points on 100% shooting, along with 5 rebounds. Behind McCracken was rookie five-man, Will Bowen. He contributed with 14 points, despite an inefficient 6-14(43%) shooting performance. Luke Rumbaugh finished with 13 points, Captain Devin Atkinson finished with 12 points which granted him with history being an 1000 point scorer solidified in BBAL history. Aleer Gonzalez finished with 10 points off the bench.
This up and coming Tropics squad gave the people a Big 3 takeover. Millersville Marauder forward Ethan Benne continues to make his case for an MVP chase in just his second season. Ethan finished with 37 points on 16-26 (62%) shooting. He also forced 3 TOs, showcasing his dual-threat ability. Trailing him was veteran presence, Aaron Constein finishing with 20 points on 8-14 (57%) shooting. Their last player in double figures was guard Marcus Benning with 17 points on 7-14 (50%) shooting, including 5 rebounds and 3 steals. This one was closely contested nearly all night. One minute of overtime was needed for this one. The Tropics won the tip but quickly turned it over leading to a Woodpeckers bucket with 5 second remaining. Ethan Benne received the inbound full-court and missed the game winner near half court off the front iron. As a result, the Tropics fell to the Woodpeckers, 86-87.
Titans Slay The Bullies
Easily one of the most heated rivalries of our league. Besecker on Besecker. All-Time Series nodded at 3-3. The two most electrifying words in sports… Game 7. Both teams coming off solid wins looking to stay hot early on. Who wants it more?
The Titans are without a doubt one of the most consistent teams to date in BBAL existence. Changes have been made to both teams but the Titans have always found a way to perform through adversity. At the forefront for the Titans was Marquise McClean finishing with 22 pts on 9-14 (64%) shooting. He added 2 steals and 5 rebounds as well. Behind him was David Kamawanga with 13 points on 5-10 (50%) shooting. Commissioner Johnny Besecker chipped in with 12 points and a couple cold-blooded threes to keep his guys in the game early on. Tyrell Melendez ended up icing the game for the Titans to seal the deal on the all-time seven game series. After Bullies Jared Kumah missed a free throw, with 5 seconds remaining Tyrell Melendez ran the floor for the game winning layup.
For the Bullies, a ton of changes to the roster, likely due to their inability to bring home hardware in recent years. A big departure was reigning MVP Marqel Wansley being shipped to the Dragons, this season will test how truly needed Marqel was. Ironically, Jared Kumah led them throughout this game, especially in the first half. He finished with an efficient 26 points on 10-15 (67%) from the field, in addition to 14 rebounds. MJM footsteps are well on their way to being filled. Trailing Jared was long-time Bully, Kobe Gantz with a struggling 12 points and 4 steals. Even more surprising or better uncharacteristic was Evan Baker having 11 points on 3-13 (23%) shooting. Realistically, the Bully mindset of defensive prowess kept them in this game all the way until the end, but they cannot let games like this slip away on a consistent basis if they want to compete at a high level. The Titans squeak by the Bullies 73-71.
Gremlins Sabotage Lanc Show Beneath Purple And Gold Lights
Many fans likely expected a different result based on the Gremlins Week 1 performance and recent history. However, the green Gremlins came to play and took advantage of the opportunities given by Lanc Show.
Lanc Show in recent have struggled to get over the hump and starting 0-2 this season certainly won’t help them. A couple additions in Dre Perry and Malik Hudges gave them size and versatility, however their solid production has yet to prove to be enough. Ajani “Energizer Bunny” Simmons led the charge against his former team with 27 points on 10-15 (67%) shooting and 7-10 (70%) from deep. A shooting masterclass from the veteran guard. Dre Perry followed his guard with 20 points on 10-17 (59%), along with 3 blocks and 7 rebounds. The last notable addition for the Lanc Show in this game was Malik Hudges scoring 12 points shooting 5-10 (50%) and 6 rebounds. These efforts were just shy of enough, considering the Gremlins offensive explosions from a few players.
The Gremlins just may be visiting a familiar place of dominance from years ago in the BBAL. Captain Tony Cruz went to work this offseason and drafting Palm Beach Atlantic University guard Tyler Burton has turned out to be a genius move. This guy flat out the bucket-getter the Gremlins have been desperate for. He channelled his inner SGA going 13-13 from the charity stripe,along with his 6-12 (50%) 27 point night. He added 5 assists as well. Gremlins veteran Mickey Stokes contributed with 18 points on 6-9 (67%) and a clinic from outside shooting 5-6 (83%). Behind them was Bryam “Hoodie Cuban” Goire and Andrew Makrides combining for 24 points. This was enough for the Gremlins to sneak by the Lanc Show, 79-78 by playing the free-throw game, unlike the Bullies.
Cherrypickers Outlast The Dragon Breath
The main event was an absolute movie. A game of seconds, a game of decisions, a game you would have hated to miss. The Cherries were ripe in this one and certainly weren't afraid of the moment.
The Dragons going into this one carried momentum after winning a nail-biter last week, led by new addition, Marqel Wansley. Isaiah Topfloor was added as well this off-season, which has given them some hustle defensively and offensive aggression. Jhiaire “Bills” Felton led his dragons squad this week with 20 points on an inefficient 7-20 (35%) shooting night with 5 rebounds and 3 forced TOs. Following him was Elijah Terry and Marqel Wansley with fairly inefficient nights, despite both scoring 15 each. They came in clutch with crucial buckets down the stretch. Topfloor did his thing with a couple highlights and tough buckets off the bench, scoring 13 points which wasn’t enough to pull their guys ahead.
And the final spotlight of the night, the Cherries shined as bright as can be through their loss last week. Cherries guard Ryan Sayers blocked out the noise from last week into a 21 point performance against the Dragons on 6-12 (50%) shooting, including a poised 3pt shot from nearly the Lancaster Catholic logo to send this one into OT and eventually close it out in the 5th one-minute quarter. Captain Justin Baker 2.0 chipped in with 17 points on 6-11 (55%) shooting. These two were the only Cherries to reach double digits but were enough to outlast the Dragons. 12 turnovers from the Cherrypickers did not phase them as they moved up the Week 2 power rankings after a clutch, 70-65 dub.
THE FEED
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