| THE TOP 10 MOMENTS IN FCBCFV BASKETBALL HISTORY:
*inspired by the Fox Sports Net show, "The Sports List" hosted by Summer Sanders*
10. Being down 12 points before the end of the first half of play against Herald in the Walnut League, Sam gets hit in the face twice with elbows from an opposition player chasing down a loose rebound. After the play is whistled dead and a foul is called, Sam responds "kindly" to the elbows with a shove of military might causing the opposing player to fly backwards into the chairs stacked up alongside the gym walls. Sam chuckles it off and walks to the bench, surprisingly he is not given a technical or an ejection.
9. In a game versus Bestfit at the Bestfit League on Monday night, Pat corrals a defensive rebound and makes a quick outlet pass to start the break. Immediately following his pass, he is shoved by a player half his size and causes Pat to bleed out of both nostrils. Reacting to the goon-like play, Pat mans up and gets chest to chest with the other player instructing that guy to "watch himself". What looks like a potential fight waiting to happen, is quickly diffused as both benches clear to restrain each player. Pat sits out the rest of the game which ended up in the win column for FCBCFV.
8. Following a year of thuggery and physical play in the Walnut Summer High School League, FCBCFV is not invited back to play the following summer because other teams were afraid of such a powerhouse. To compensate that summer, Daniel "the Danimal" Chan spearheads an effort to create a league right out in the FCBCFV church parking lot. The league is a "3 on 3" format, most notably remembered for it's $10 league fee which supposedly went towards the purchase of league t-shirts for the champions in the playoffs. The t-shirts were in fact issued to the champs, however, it remains questionable if the retail value of those shirts cost $10 a player haha. Daniel contends til this day that they were, we believe you bro :)
7. Taking a big stroll down memory lane, we flashback to the RA Summer Youth Basketball Tournaments held annually in the Lincoln High School gym in East LA. One summer, Jason Lin, receives the basketball after FCBC Westminster wins the tip to start the game. Jason, in his excitement, looks around and begins barrelling towards one of the hoops. Amazingly, there are no defenders around to stop him at all. Immediately after J-Lin scores 2 points with a clean layup, he realizes the reason for the lack of defense from the other team, it's because Linster ended scoring for the wrong team. From that day on, Jason's game has been suspect and one can only speculate about his love of scoring the rock, even if it's for the other team.
6. In a regular season Monday night game at the Bestfit League, one of the Bestfit Team players steals the ball and breaks towards his basket for a slam dunk attempt. In defense of the play, Mike "Smallhead" Nguyen (who is building a reputation for himself as one of the emerging long range sharpshooters in the league) gives chase. Unfortunately, Mike is unable to stop the dunk and winds up getting caught under the bottom end of the jam. Yes, he was jammed on. The player who dunked the ball conducts himself in an unsportsmanlike fashion by flexing his arms, grunting like a caveman and stares Mike down. Following the play stands nearby Jay "the Korean" Lee. Jay picks up the basketball and throws it for a strike at the opposing players leg a la Randy Johnson. Jay is subsequently ejected from the game for what the referees considered to be retaliation, but what all FCBCFV players and fans will remember as righteous vigilante justice.
5. During the course of many Walnut Summer Leagues during high school and post-high school, Thang "the Loose Cannon" Nguyen has schooled his opponents with his superb ball handling abilities. His patented "roll around on the ground crossover" has oooh'd and ahhh'd the fans and has juked his counterparts for far too long leaving their ankles sore and bent out of shape after every game. He's done this move so many times that it's hard to keep an accurate count. But we'll still count it as the 5th top moment or i should say momentS in FCBCFV ballin' history.
4. The inception of the secondary team into Summer League Tournaments. More commonly known as the "B" teams. Changed the way FCBCFV teams conducted business by allowing a wider array of players to participate in the fun and excitement. These games, though somewhat less competitive, were usually more entertaining for the audiences that came to watch them play. There's something about basketball and sports in general when the underdogs come out on top.
3. After blowing a huge 16 point halftime lead, FCBCFV finds itself in a bind late in the game versus Evergreen Baptist with the score tied up at 52 pts. Only a mere 2 seconds remain on the game clock, Mike "Bighead" Nguyen calls a crucial timeout that sets the wheels in motion for the decisive play of the game. Following the timeout, the ball is inbounded to Jay Lee. Jay proceeds to take one dribble to his left and begins to elevate for his trademark baseline fadeaway jumper, only this time with 2 defenders in his face and his eyes seemingly shut. The shot is taken with the buzzer sounding as soon as it leaves his hand, silence fills the gym for a split second as the ball grazes the side of the backboard and falls threw the hoop. FCBCFV escapes with a final score of 54-52.
2. Mr. Clutch, also known as Howie "Horace" Chan, has definitely earned that name and his place in FCBCFV basketball history with his many buzzer beating, last second, game-winning shots. He has often said "give me the ball, i will get it done" at the end of tight games. Whether it's a long 3 point bomb, leaping leaner jumpshot, or a deceptively slow ascent to the basket for a go-ahead layup bucket...Howie has answered the call to seal the deal. Occasionally Howie will say "don't touch me, it's not over yet" when fellow teammates try to swarm him with celebratory high fives and hugs after his big shots.
1. Finally, for the top play in FCBCFV basketball history, and if you've read down this far...eprops to you. We take you back to the Walnut High School Summer League. The year when AOK basketball's perhaps "Dream Team" was assembled under the tutelage of then head coach Sam "the Fattie" Chi. This dream team was comprised of players like Daniel Chan, Josh Tam, Thang Nguyen, Steven Lee, Scott Lee, Jacob Yau and Brian Chao to name a few. The scenario is playoff game basketball. The team finds itself with it's backs against the wall trying to win an important game to advance to the next round of the playoffs. FCBCFV is down by 2 points with less than 5 seconds on the clock. With no timeouts to spare, the ball is inbounded to the team's point guard Thang Nguyen. In epic Christian Laettner-like fashion, Thang zooms up the floor, stops, drops, and opens up shop to pop a shot from halfcourt that sails about half a mile in the air only to bang dead center off the backboard and into the hole. The buzzer sounds, the team wins. Thang gets jumped by his team and the fans go wild (back when fans actually went and WATCHED the game, now they just go and read books or socialize with other fans). The Dream Team advances in the playoffs only to finish 3rd overall in the final standings. |
