DiningNY.com tops Verdis Restaurant, 52-47

Minor Division

In a very physical matchup, DiningNY.com outscored Verdi's Restauran, 52-47. Down by 12 points at halftime, DiningNY.com was able to surge back in the second half behind the combined offensive play of Philip Leist, Edward Johnston and Marc Laufer. The trio shared the team lead in scoring with 13 points each. Justin Finkelman had a team high 10 assists and Peter DiPietrantonio led the team in steals with nine. Kunnar Singh, with his strong inside play, and Adam Breidbart and Andrew Nicoleau, with their very aggressive defensive play, were also instrumental to the victory.

Verdi’s Jose Barcena played a strong two-way game with excellent defensive rebounding and 12 points on the offensive end. Point guard Michael Berndt led Verdi’s fast break and pumped in 10 points, while Anthony Kapovic displayed a nice outside touch. Andrew Lehr’s five points and tough man-to-man defense helped keep Verdi’s close, while Joseph May and Joseph Angenbroich gave solid efforts on both ends of the floor.

Whitestone Diner defeated New Hyde Park Amoco in an exciting overtime game. The pace was furious as regulation ended, with Jimmy Kozakis and Mena Yacoub speeding up and down the court to keep the game close. Zachary Frankel, Ralph Glavan and Erhan Sencer also contributed for the Amoco team. John Sfiris and Alex Mason played tenacious defense though their team came up a bit short in the extra period. New Hyde Park Amoco’s record presently stands at 9-9.

Bantam Division

Holding off a furious comeback effort by Pizza Chef, Lee’s Jewel Box held on for a 31-23 win. The offense was led by Joey Anderkavich with 14 points, Chris Garthright with six points and Giancarlo Santillo with five. Jose Gonzalez, Andrew McClean and Tommy Schreiber each contributed two points each. Tony Prasos and Mojtaba Raja led the defensive effort needed for the win.

Led by Coach Gary Schreiber, Lee’s Jewel Box followed up the victory by defeating Franklin Printing, 30-18. Lee’s scoring was led by Joey Anderkavich with 17 points. Giancarlo Santillo and Andrew McClean poured in 11 and two points, respectively. Jose Gonzalez, Tony Prasos and Tommy Schreiber all had great all-around games that contributed to the win. Franklin Printing’s offense was led by Joey Depperman, Mike Higgins and Nick Kalakalides. Joey Farrell, Chris Franceschini and Brandon Torres provided defense and great all around play.

Parsons & 20th Avenue Auto Care had a winning weekend, starting off with a victory over Pizza Chef, 26-16. Jason Brandes led the team with 12 points, while Mike Kern added six points and Brian Campbell five. Anthony Scifo pumped in three points, and combined with Nick Coppolino, Jonathan Lopez, and Anthony Gismundi for a strong defensive effort.

Parsons 20th Avenue Auto Care followed up this win by defeating Lee’s Jewel Box, 23-19, in a real nail-biter. Jason Brandes led the team offensively with 12 points. Mike Kern contributed five points, also getting a key steal at the end of the game to preserve the victory. Brian Campbell and Anthony Scifo added three points each. Jonathan Lopez and Nick Coppolino each gave great defensive efforts. Parsons is now 10-8.

In a tight contest, Franklin’s Printing defeated Pizza Chef, 19-18. Pizza Chef was stopped by a strong defensive performance by Franklin’s Printing. Leading scorers for Franklin’s were Nick Katakalides and Joey Depperman, while Joey Farrell and Mike Higgins also contributed to the scoring. Playing a strong defensive game were Chris Franceshini and Brandon Torres. Leading the scoring for Pizza Chef was Chris Kekovski.

Novice Division

The DG Bulls scored a convincing 26-8 victory over the DG Raptors. The Raptors jumped out on top on baskets by Justin Poveda-Baez and Colleen Brennan, but the Bulls came roaring back, led by the strong scoring attack of Tommy Medina, Patrick Flynn, Mike Lavin and John Comisky, and the fine team play of Katherine Pougsoklis, Kieran Coffey, Mark McLean, Sal DiMaria and Chris Owen. Led by the defensive play of David Legaz, Andrea Lawrence, Dennis Brennan, Stephen Ehresman and rebounding of Louis Kabatnik, Stephanie Camilleri, David Hazin and Jeff Johnston, the Raptors battled to stay in the game, but they just couldn’t get the ball to drop in the basket.

In a tight contest that went down to the wire, the DG Knicks pulled out a 13-10 win over the DG Raptors. The Knicks were led by the clutch outside shooting of Logan Frankel and baskets by Tanya Kozakis and Frank Obidienzo. The excellent ball handling of Demetri Giakousnis and Suzie Lee and defensive play of Bianca Ann Pappas, Rich Nielson and Christine Brabazon rounded out the supporting cast of Knick characters. A balanced scoring attack kept the Raptors in the game, led by Colleen Brennan, David Hazin, Andrea Lawrence and Louis Kabatnik with assists by Dennis Brennan and Stephanie Camilleri. Rounding out the Raptor attack was the great defensive play of Stephen Ehresman and Jeffrey Johnston and rebounding of Justin Poveda-Baez.

In an energetic end-to-end game, the DG Lakers outlasted the DG Raptors, 27-16. The Raptors exhibited some fine team play and hung tough on scores from the high-flying Justin Poveda-Baez, Louis Kabatnik, David Hazin, Colleen Brennan, David Legaz, Stephen Ehresman and Jeff Johnston. The Raptors’ Stephanie Camilleri dished out a few assists with her excellent passing and the hustling Dennis Brennan provided the sparks for some explosive defensive plays. The Lakers’ Patrick Berndt continued to scorch the nets with his hot shooting, while the playmaking of Kenny Lehr and rebounding of Manny Barcena rounded out an effective Lakers offense. Joseph Bell, Derek Capponi and Emily Stepancic gave the Lakers great efforts on both ends of the floor. The highlight of the game, however, came in the third quarter when the Laker's Nicole Zolla hit a beautiful turnaround jumper that brought the fans to their feet and rallied her team to the win.