In a match marked by spins, quick transitions, and several fouls, the Giants managed to have the control of a difficult match where their rivals, the Blue Devils, demonstrated to be a real threat throughout last Saturday’s game. 

A few seconds were enough to see that this would be a tight match up. Although the Giants proposed an extremely offensive game from the very beginning, Merced’s players and their positioning when defending allowed them to keep their ring safe from the dreadful throws of Davis White, Raydon Thorson and Tyree Gill. However, the inevitable happened and after a few minutes without any points, the Giants unlocked the scoreboard.

The Giants’ lead would be something fleeting as Merced answered back in both the marker and the aggressive proposal. From there, the match would turn into a constant give and take of long throws, players spinning near the ring and sprinting to the rival’s area. Both teams were not willing to give more points to the other and that was reflected in the fact that they rarely failed in the defensive rebounds, something that helped them transition from defense to attack real quick and kept the suffocating pacing of the game. Although the Blue Devils stayed close, our Giants found a way to maintain the lead thanks to the accuracy of our players. Something that contrasted with the Merced team which although they had many chances, were struggling to finish successfully. By halftime, the game was 32-44 with the Giants in the lead. 

The second half of the game showed us a more tense match up. Along the spins and long throws of both teams, now Merced was being more accurate and frontal. Now everything Merced was throwing to the rivals was giving them points, and thus, getting closer and closer to the Giants. Moreover the Blue Devils player, Justin Anderson, was being extremely ambitious as he was everywhere helping his teammates in defense and attack.

Despite Merced being threatening in the first half, the Giants were still ahead of them thanks to some impossible blocks made by the team, as well as the points that Tyree Gill, Leyton McGovern and Carter Glick earned. In the second half, it was hard to say which team was better since either team didn’t seem hesitant or frustrated. The Blue Devils never succumbed to the pressure of being behind in the score and the Giants never succumbed to the pressure of a suffocating rivalry.

Finally the score reach 81-91 in the last quarter, with the Giants achieving yet again another victory! The Giants have gotten 15 victories in a row, and this Wednesday they plan to get their 16th win in their game against Porterville.