After falling short in the semifinals in season one, 76ers GC made sure it would reach the finals this year with a 2-0 sweep over Celtics Crossover Gaming on Friday night.
The back-to-back Tipoff champions will play for their first league championship next week after one tightly contested game and one blowout against their regional neighbors.
It was a back-and-forth battle in game one, with little to separate the two Tipoff finalists. As expected, it was the Radiant and oFab show, the former putting up 14 points and 12 assists and the latter dropping 19 and 11.
But it wasn’t until a contested ZDS dagger with under 20 seconds to go in the contest that it was finally beyond doubt. The sharpshooter finished with 21 points and 3 assists on 9-for-13 shooting, and buried the long 3-pointer with ProFusion’s hand in his face to give his team a late six-point lead and give the 76ers the 1-0 lead in the series with a 55-51 win.
Celtics center No Autographs contributed 16 points and 6 rebounds at an 8-for-10 clip in the losing effort.
Radiant looked determined not to go home in the semifinals a second straight year, turning in a performance worthy of an MVP finalist in game two with 37 points and 14 assists on 11-of-14 shooting while draining six of his seven attempts from 3-point range.
The point guard’s play ensured game two wasn’t nearly as close as the first game. 76ers GC started running away with the game early, turning a 17-12 first-quarter lead into a 41-29 halftime advantage.
It wouldn’t get any better for Celtics Crossover, who had entered the playoffs winning 9 of its last 10 games. The Radiant onslaught endured, and the 76ers left little in doubt with an eventual 96-59 win.
ZDS was the main benefactor of Radiant’s playmaking, scoring 26 points with five made 3-pointers. Lockdown defender Newdini chipped in 17 points.
The Celtics trio of oFab, ProFusion and No Autographs combined to score 54 of the team’s 59 points in game two. MVP finalist oFab went for 18 points and 12 assists, ProFusion scored 16 and No Autographs put up a stellar statline of 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Boston had started the season 1-5 but reversed its fortunes with a nine-game win streak to secure a playoff berth. The team took down No. 2 seed Mavs Gaming in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
76ers GC swept Pacers Gaming in the quarterfinals.
