Gotham City Games 2008 All-Tourney Selections | |
Hillburn, NY – The All-Tournament Selections: All weekend long, it was, “Who is that #3 guy on San Fran?” Well, by the end, he’d made his mark. And if you still don’t know his name, remember it, he may be punishing you for a long time to come: Josh Urbiztondo. J-Urb picked up the MVP piece while leading the field in scoring at 27.2 ppg. His signature game came against the Cruisers in the semis when he dropped 42 on them – 28 in the 2nd quarter. It had the gym abuzz with, “You see that guy pull a ‘Melo?” – what with Carmelo Anthony going off for 33 in a single period a mere days before the Gotham Games. 42 on the Cruisers? Let’s just say that on the East Coast, no one from any team has ever done that to them. Getting half that on the Cruisers is amazing. He shot an amazing 59.4% from the floor for the tournament and 50.9% from 3. He handed out 2.0 apg and had 1.3 spg, so he wasn’t just a shooter – though the DLBA would be okay with it if he was. In fact, anyone watching him woulda been okay with it. J-Urb was like that video game player who’s on fire and you want to see shoot the ball from anywhere he’s situated on the court. The best part? He led his team to the chip while doing it. You can be the best shooter on the planet – see Peja Stojakovic or Stephen Curry – but if you can’t win a ring, it don’t mean a thing. No one captured the spirit of the Most Inspirational Player Award than Sid Anand of Philly FAY. Truth be told, S.A. could capture this award year in and year out as he’s shown nothing but enthusiasm for playing in the GCG since the day they were born. No one updates his Facebook status more about how looking forward to the Games than he, no one rallies his team more to get it together so they can play leading up to the tournament, no one hoots and hollers more on the sidelines, nearly willing his team to victories with his enthusiasm. No one is more respectful, courteous, or a sportsman than he. No one was more happy after a loss as well until you realize that Anand is from Philly – the city that had 99 combined seasons of their professional sports franchises not capturing a title until the Phillies finally just did it this fall. Then, and only then, do you understand why he’s got a perma-grin. And then, you only begin to understand how he is an inspiration. |