By: Tommy H. Rossettini/May 4th, 2020
It has been a pretty exciting inaugural season for the PHL, and if it weren’t for the freaking plague, we’d probably be talking about PHL Season III by now! Nevertheless, we must adjust to these unforeseen circumstances. When students return this Fall, the Infinity Cup Playoffs will commence, with Zack, Snakes, and Tyler receiving first round byes. Brian and Hammer will play in the Wild Card play-in game, with the winner advancing to play top seeded Zack in the semi-final. #2 Snakes will play #3 Tyler in the other semi-final matchup. Most experts anticipate the two heavyweights, Zack and Snakes to meet in the final. Zack annihilated his competition, sweeping his first half competition, giving him the bid to host the All-Star Game. However, it was Snakes that dealt the first and only blow to his perfect season, taking him down at the end of the regular season.
For Snakes, it has been a “tail” of two halves. He struggled in the first half (2-3), losing to Hammer, Zack, and Cris (now out of the league). During the second half, he went on an absolute tear, sweeping his competition (4-0). Hammer was especially impressed with how much Snakes improved, “I’m impressed with how he stepped up his game in the second half.” Tyler, who plays Snakes in the semi-final said, “I need to suddenly get a couple inches taller or for him to break his leg or something.” Based on Zack’s superior strength, and Snake’s ability to find the rim, while in the paint, a rematch in the final would not surprise anyone.
Of course, anything can happen in the playoffs. Despite his sub-.500 record, Hammer always provides tough competition, especially for Snakes, who told me, “The guy’s a rock out there! He’s really hard to defend, and those trick plays off the wall are very annoying.” Hammer is the dark horse entering the playoffs. Obviously, Hammer needs to “be aggressive” and take care of business in his Wild Card game against Brian. As for Brian, it has not been an ideal start to his PHL career, losing all 8 regular season games. Brian says he needs to “hit shots and capitalize on free throws” if he wants to pull off the upset. Snakes has not been the only player to give Zack trouble. Hammer played Zack very close in both meetings this year, making a potential Zack vs. Hammer semi-final matchup awfully intriguing.
There are several storylines to follow, as we approach the Infinity Cup Playoffs, this Fall. Will Zack re-establish his dominance after a late season loss? Will Snakes’ late season hot streak stretch into the postseason? Will the media overlooking Hammer motivate him to prove them wrong in the playoffs? Will Tyler, who appears overmatched, find a way to stop Snakes? Will Brian shock the world? We will find out soon enough!
Unfortunately, I feel that the PHL has done a sub-satisfactory job at informing fans about the playoff format. Of course, the bracket says a lot. But it’s important for fans to know that the Wild Card Game between Brian and Hammer is a one game, sudden death series. Win or go home! The semi-final series, Snakes vs Tyler and Zack vs (Hammer/Brian) are best-of-3, meaning that the first player to win 2 games will advance to the Infinity Cup Final. Last, the final is best-of-5, where the player to first win 3 games will be the PHL I champion.
Personally, I think it’s great that the PHL is expanding into more teams. I am not a big fan of every team clinching a playoff spot. I mean c’mon, with all due respect to Brian, he went went 0-8. I’m not too sure he deserves a playoff spot after a disappointing season like this. Leaving teams out of the playoffs makes the end of the regular season even more exciting. I’m also happy that PHL officers decided to have player-members adopt cities to represent. So far, Snakes will become the Seattle Snakes, and Hammer will become the Howell Hammers. Having cities being part of the PHL, rather than individuals no one’s ever heard of, should make it easier to sell merchandise. I mean what kind of nut buys a shirt with someone else’s name on it? Fans want to represent cities and states. Fans can access rebranded city merchandise, as teams release them throughout the summer. Be sure click “Store” on the top right corner of the webpage. The PHL will be back, bigger, and better than ever before, this Fall! Stay tuned all summer long, for more articles from me and my two wonderful colleagues, Bert Harbinson and Erin Wilcox.
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