Perhaps the Closest Day EVER!

July 13th, 2026

Last week, I mentioned that, while scheduling, I was going to pair up teams with similar or equal records and see how that worked out. Well, it was spectacular and if my arms weren't so short, I'd pat myself on the back. Twenty-five of our 33 games ended with single-digit margins. Our average margin of victory was around seven points, and that's including the day's two blowouts. There were three one-point wins, an amazing SEVEN two-point victories, and three games ended with three-point margins. There were also three overtime games, including one that was tied at 61-61 at the end of regulation and then one team (Rogue Sharks) outscored their opponent (Average Joes), 8-0 in the overtime period.

Look at these scores:

--Coolagains 38, Starr Pass Ballers 36

--Splash Pad 70, Lobos 68

--Ham 43, Sikhos 41

--Air Jesus 87, Phantomz 86

--Cool Arrows 63, Blue Coconuts 60

--Omega 60, Outlawz 58

--Green Beans 63, Bricklayers Anonymous 61

And that's not even half of the aforementioned really close games from Sunday. One game of note saw Big Steppas and Heat Check tied at 69 with eight seconds left. Big Steppas hit a clutch basket with three seconds left and then Heat Check hit a miraculous three at the buzzer for the win. Anthony Vogt scored 33 points to lead Area 520 over Buzz Boys, while Vince Edwards had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead Storm past Saints, 69-67.

The Game of the Day and, quite frankly, the Season took place on Court 1 in the first game of the day. One of my scorekeepers called in sick, so I had to/got to do the scoreboard for that game. The game pitted Rainbow Drillers against Just a Game. One not-impartial observer suggested that the game might be a blowout, considering the tear that the Drillers have been on lately. But Just a Game was undefeated, so I held out hope for a close contest. What do you think? Do four overtimes make for a close game? And this was not just two teams struggling to score in the extra periods. It was a 20-footer at the buzzer to send it into another OT. It was attempted dunks blocked at the rim. It was up and down the court with one highlight after another. Finally, it was Just a Game scoring inside the final 10 second of OT Number 4 to take a 71-69 lead, then watching League Legend Donte Williams get fouled on a three and then drain all three free throws for a 72-71 win. 

Of the thousands of League games that I've seen in the past 38 years, it was easily one of the 10 best. It reminded me of the Kentucky-Duke game back in the day. It was really cool and the great display of sportsmanship between members of the two teams made it even better.