By The TimesLedger
DG Girls’ Division
Lee’s Jewel Box sparkled during playoff week with a victory over a wonderful Verdis Restaurant team. Katie Brent scored early and often to build a lead that lasted the whole game. Another gem of a game was played by Angelica Carmody. All Lee’s Jewels glowed in this game, especially Gillian Avery, Lisa Rooney and Angela Jurkovic. And, of course, the pearls Tanya Kozakis, Lacey Losgar and Jessica Mora. Although Verdis didn’t win today, they had the best record during the regular season, paced by the spectacular play of Lexie Mannix and her speedy and sharp-shooting partner Shannon Kern. Sarah Smith was a joy to watch, as well as Michelle and Christine Kuznewski, along with Nicole Conforte. Improving all year long were Corine Lippert, Megan Latham and Tatiana Celsis.
DG Bantam Division
Varsi Deli opened up the playoffs with a hard-fought 33-29 win over a determined and well-coached Carvel of Whitestone squad. Varsi was led by high point man Patrick Berndt, as well as the fine all-around play of Chris Kekovski. Kenny Lehr chipped in with four points, as well as having the tough assignment of covering Carvel’s star player, Chris Garthright, whose fourth quarter heroics almost brought his team the win. Dennis Brennan, Louis Kabatnik and Billy Brady all made strong contributions to the victory.
In the semi-final round, Varsi Deli was beaten by Jam Services in a very competitive game. Varsi’s Chris Kekovski had a tremendous game offensively, as he kept his team in the game throughout the contest. In the end, Jam’s size advantage was the difference, as they moved on to the finals. Varsi Deli had a tremendous season, compiling a regular season 13-8 record for a third place finish in a very balanced and competitive league. Congratulations to all the players, Billy Brady, Dennis Brennan, Manuel Barcena, Louis Kabatnik, Chris Kekovski, Patrick Berndt and Kenny Lehr on a great year.
DG Minor Division
Cosmo Maintenance opened its playoff run with a well executed 59-43 win over Golden Autobody. Cosmo was led by the high-scoring trio of Michael Berndt, Jose Barcena and Andrew Lehr, with Sebastian Graziani chipping in with six points and great defensive effort that helped propel the team to the win.
In a semi-final round playoff game, Cosmo Maintenance was defeated by Duffner&Voight. Cosmo played hard throughout the contest, despite losing star player Jose Barcena at the beginning of the fourth period, but fell just short. Cosmo had a great year, finishing 14-7 for a second place finish during the regular season. Congratulations to all the players: Sebastian Graziani, Hilal Picovsky, Joe Lumley, Jose Barcena, Brendan Corrigan, Michael Berndt and Andrew Lehr, who provided many highlights in a very successful season.
DG Novice Division
The DG Nets completed their season with a league best record of 12 wins and two losses. Coach Ted Schiffman is very proud of his players who are: Travis Lippert, Blake Brown, Jenna Schiffman, Sarah Ho, Sarah Friedman, Matthew Mora, John Doyle, Nicolai Gallegos, Constantine Dakis and Mellisa Renner. They all learned to play together as a team and had a great season.
Congratulations on a great season to the DG Knicks, who compiled an 8-5-1 record with all the players contributing. It has been a fun and learning experience with constant improvement as the season went along. Congratulation to all the players in there continuing efforts and improvements as follows: John Sideris, Jordan Chateau, Anthony Scarallo, Catherine Prunella, Andrea Prunella, Constantine Pougiouklidis, Evangelos Tsiklidis, Daniel Kim, and Lance You.
