Week 3 is officially in the books for the ’22 season, and as expected, the matchups of the week didn’t disappoint! The weekend featured standout performances from Elvin Rodriguez, the HeziGod and Zach Hinton, with special guest buckets from Terrell Owens, Dante Exum and Doug McDermott, making week 3 perhaps the best VBL game-week of the young season.
Week 3 Results
| Matchup | Player of Game |
| Future Mood v Leune 70 – 49 | Rasheet Wilson |
| SNS v Hard to Gaurd 45 – 40 | Christian “Deebo” |
| Hoopbus x Woodies v Fentwood Hoops 60 – 58 | Vince “BodySnatcher” Camper |
| Sunblock x Soleworld v XvsX Sports 43 – 47 | Emmanuel Brown |
| Project Backboard v Bball Junkies 44 – 47 | Zach Hinton |
| Born x Raised v Hooperverse 70 – 57 | Kenny Barnes |
| In the Lab v Hamilton x Wilson 69 – 60 | Ryan “Hezigod” Carter |
| Timeless v Top Dawg 87 – 69 | Elvin Rodriguez |
Saturday July 2’nd – Day 1
Future Mood v Leune
Saturday’s games kicked off with Future Mood (2-1) delivering a statement win over rookie team Leune (0-3). Future Mood’s Rasheet Wilson received player of the game honors, recording a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Moving into week 3, Rasheet now leads the VBL in both assists (16) and blocks (6). Honorable mention performances include team captain Grizzly Moons (12 pts), and bucket-getter Sam Skipper (14pts). Meanwhile, new VBL franchise Leune is struggling to keep pace in the competitive rankings, however an infusion of new players including Jamelle “JT Money” Taylor (13 pts) and a guest appearance from Terrell Owens (10 Pts and an ejection) are perhaps signs of a midseason spark for the young team.
SNS v Hard to Guard
In game 2, ’21 VBL champions Sneakers N Stuff (2-0) kept their undefeated record, securing a handy victory over Hard to Guard (0-3) 45-40. Christian, or Deebo as he’s known on the Venice courts, channelled the strength of his name-sake, earning the honor through a bully ball game, 12 points, 3 blocks. The day was particularly special for SNS’s Garrick “Dreamchaser” Wilson, 11 points 3 assists, who was honored on court for his ’21 MVP season, taking home the Defensive Player of the Year Trophy, the Dime-Dropper Trophy and the Human Highlight Reel Trophy on top of his MVP honors.
Hoopbus x Woodies v Fentwood Hoops
In one of the tightest games of the day, Hoopbus x Woodies (2-1) was able to scrape a win over the scrappy rookie Fentwood Hoops (1-2) team, winning 60-58 off a defensive stop from Hoopbus’ player of the game Vince “Body-Snatcher” Camper, who dropped 19 points and secured 7 boards. The game came down to a controversial no-call with 12 seconds on the clock and Fentwood advancing down the court with a chance to tie or win the ballgame on the with their last shot. Fentwood big Maurice “Mo,” 3’rd in the league in assists, blocks and rebounds, was stood up trying to drive through Body Snatcher, whose defensive stop prevented Fentwood from attempting the last shot of the game. Following the win, HoopBus moves to 2-1, while the talented but inexperienced Fentwood Hoops falls to 1-2. Honorable mention performances include HoopBus’ White Chocolate, 23pts & 6 boards, as well as Fentwood’s Daytone “Tone” Jennings, 22Pts, 10 boards (4’th in league scoring).
Sunblock x Soleworld v XvsX Sports
The day’s final game was a battle of the 2-0’s, where the VBL tested Sunblock x Soleworld (2-1) fell to the Metta World Peace led XvsX Sports (3-0) in a 47 – 43 game that came down to the last shot. Emmanuel Brown, tied for fifth in league scoring, earned his third consecutive player of the game honors, dropping 17 points with 5 boards for XvsX. Arch (14 pts, 3 steals), earns an honorable mention for his crucial role in securing this big W for XvsX. Team Sunblock, led by captain Jon “the Kakeshow” Kaker, saw big performances from league 3pt leader, Juice Billsbrew (18pts, 4 steals), and AJ “Chosen One” Harris, (8pts, 2 steals), but ultimately Sunblock x Soleworld fell short. Sunblock will need to be exceptional to bounce back next week, taking on the undefeated juggernaut of the Timeless Squad.
Sunday July 3’rd
Bball Junkies v Project Backboard
Day 2 started with a matchup of the clothing makers vs the court building experts. BBJ (1-2) caught their first victory of the season over Project Backboard (1-2), winning 47 – 44, in a game that went to the wire. Player of the Game Zach Hinton, absolutely dominated across the board, dropping 16 points, pulling down 15 boards and diming 7 assists, to secure his first player of the week award! Zach gets the nod amongst a group of standout performances due to his pivotal role in securing the win as his points and assists accounted for 30 of his teams 47 points. Zach, who leads the league in rebounding and is third in scoring, secured his team the win, ripping the ball from Project Backboard and setting his teammate KJ “Maestro” up for a game tying floater with less than a minute left. Though Project Backboard has gotten off to a lackluster start in ’22, the debut of Van “All-Fades” Girard, 15 pts 10 rebs, is a sign in the right direction for the squad.
Born x Raised v Hooperverse
Born x Raised (2-1) took a W over Hooperverse (0-3) in the day’s second game securing a 23 point victory. Player of the game honors went to B&R’s Kenny Barnes, 13 points 13 rebounds 3 blocks, who’s sharp play on both sides of the floors sparked the x-factor for his team. Honorable mention performances include LaQuavius “Q” Cotton (top 5 in league steals and blocks), 19 points, 10 rebs, 3 blocks, and KG 17 points, 5 assists, 3 steals. Rookie team Hooperverse has struggled to find their first win in the league, however the arrival of Tyler “PVO_T” Jackson who dropped an efficient 18 points and Malik, 19 points, perhaps is a sign that win #1 is on the horizon.
In the Lab v Hamilton x Wilson
In the Lab (2-0) came out on top of Hamilton x Wilson (1-2), on the back of Ryan “HeziGod” Carter. Hezi put on a show, and was a prime candidate for player of the week, dropping a season record 31 points with 10 boards and 3 steals in his team’s 69 – 60 victory. Per usual, his scoring abilities dazzled Venice beach as he leaped, crossed and danced his way to layup after layup, knocking down a pair of three pointers along the way. His teammate’s Dominique Lanier, 13 pts 4 assists, as well as P-Shawn, 8 pts 11 rebounds, receive honorable mentions for their performances as well. Team Hamilton x Wilson featured an incredible 19 point game from Dominique Alexander who knocked down three tre-balls though ultimately fell short.
Timeless v Top Dawg
In the final game of the weekend, the seemingly unstoppable Timeless (3-0) and Top Dawg (1-2) faced off, with Timeless catching a 87-69 victory. Timeless, led by a power trio of God’s Prodigy, 1st in league scoring & 1st in league steals, Elvin Rodriguez, 2nd in league scoring, 2nd in assists, 2nd in steals, and Larry “Buddha” Boyd, tied 5th in steals, is averaging near 80 points on the season, blowing away each team put in their path. Player of the game honors for week 3 went to Elvin “Mr Everything” Rodriguez, who dropped 24 points, laid off 7 dimes and recorded a season record 6 steals. For Top Dawg, Shoney had another excellent game dropping 16 points and recording 6 steals, while Baby Shaq dropped 15 points. Timeless is set up for an entertaining matchup with the veteran Soleworld x Sunblock, will they be the first team that can slow down this behemoth? Tune in next week to find out!
19U Taiwanese National Team!
Special thanks to the 19U Taiwanese National Team, who spent an evening on their USA trip getting a run in with the VBL all-stars! As the young bulls ran, it was clear they demonstrated a Venice-esque passion for the game, and perhaps more clear, and less common to Venice, was the organized and disciplined game play. Playing seasoned VBL vets, the newcomers put forth a tremendous effort that we must commend!