First of all, thank you very much for all the praise I got for the last write-up I did. Since the playoff's are in progress, I thought I'd write about the player who made a title-winning buzzerbeater in season 11, Plinio Couto Costa.
(6661481)Sure, I could talk about Jack Long instead when I talk about Pancakes with Jam and Cream, but that would be too easy :P. Time to relive what was a moment of joy for C-Cat and heartbreak for Mllama. But first, let’s get some background…
Despite being an 18yo HOF potential player, he was taken 44th overall in his draft class. Brazil IV.36 wasn't very active at that time. Luckily, the team he got drafted to was active and had just promoted to division III. Even in his rookie season, it was obvious he was money from 3 point range. It appears New York Utd trained him well whilst they were active, but in season 8 they would go inactive and Costa would enter free agency.
Pancakes with Jam and Cream acquired Costa at a rather large fee for a 19yo of nearly 1.9 million. But I'm sure he'll say it was well worth it considering his level of play in the following 8 seasons. He was always one of the top scorers of the league, but today I'll talk mostly about Season 11.
Back in season 11, outside-based tactics seemed to be a lot more popular and/or useful than they seem to be today. This was favourable for Costa and the entire PWJAC lineup, who also had another top guard in Jack Long, and a big man who could shoot the 3 in Samuel Areas. The team shot 38% from the 3 point line in Season 11! Anyway, PWJAC finished the regular season 2nd in their conference with a 19-3 record. Plinio Couto Costa was very good in the regular season but a bit underplayed, at 19 games and 31.9 minutes a game. His stats were very impressive nonetheless: 23.8 PPG, 45.9% FG, and 47.1% 3PT! Whichever way you put it that 3 point range he had that season was remarkable. He made 80 threes from 170 attempts! But we all know that the playoffs is where it really counts, and that season, Costa was clutch...
It was Wombats vs Pancakes in the Season 11 finals series, after PWJAC pulled off a 4 point upset against CoolCats. And what a series it was. PWJAC took game 1 at home 120-107, Costa playing a blinder with 34 points and 8 assists. But game 2 showed what happened when Costa had a bad game. He slipped to 5-16 from the field and 1-4 from three, scoring only 15 points as PWJAC lost 94-72. He would have to step it up in game 3...
Game 3 started out badly for the Pancakes, with Wombats enjoying a 10 point lead by the end of the 1st. Leslie Gafa was having a terrific game with 22 points and 5 assists in just 21 minutes... but then Gomolickas would commit a flagrant foul. Gafa was injured. Call it dirty tactics, but after half-time, PWJAC surged back into the game, coming from 10 down to lead by 2 at the end of the 3rd. Jack Long was himself playing well with 22 points and 8 assists in 35 minutes, but got too ambitious, went for a dunk, fell the wrong way and had to come off, forcing PWJAC to play rookie Royce Raines at point. All this drama brings us to the last minute of the game.
Costa wanted to score the dagger. A 3-pointer would make it a 2 possession game, but Costa's inexperience, being only 22 years old that season, caused him to make errors in judgement trying to do so. His first attempt was way outside the arc. His second was too early in the shot clock. The Wombats were now up by 1 point and had the ball with 24 seconds left, with 23 on the shot clock. But PWJAC chose not to intentionally foul. Preston Grigg looked set to dribble the clock out... until Raines made the clutch as heck steal with 4 seconds on the clock. PWJAC ran the fast break, Raines passed to Paolo Colica, Colica dished to Costa, Costa shoots at the buzzer from mid-range baseline, SPLASH! And just like that, he had made ABBL history...
I've reached the character limit...
Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 5/3/2012 6:50:21 AM