POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
William Modeste
The Manhattan Pride finished the season strong winning two of their last three games as they gear up for the APBL Playoffs, which starts Saturday April 2nd in Brooklyn, NY.
The Pride first faced off against one of the APBL's best Northern Conference's teams, the Brooklyn Blazers, winning a competitive and entertaining game by the score of 115-109.
Talented guard, Jermaine Sanders (6'5''-F-92) scored a game high 37 points. Mike John (6'3''-G) scored 21 points, Omar Kellman (6'6''-F-92, college: St.Thomas Aquinas) poured in 18 points, and Nate Young (6'7''-G/F-86) scored 14 points to round out the leading scorers for the Pride in this game.
Matas Rascius (6'7''-F, college: Baruch) scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds helping to solidify the interior presence for the Pride. Seon Jack (6'1''-G) and Rhydeem Samedi provided excellent perimeter defense for the Pride and scored seven point and six points, respectively.
After losing a tough game versus Hudson Valley Kingz, the Pride were able to regroup with a win in their next game against the surging New York Fearless.
Nate Young (6'7''-G/F-86) led the Pride in scoring versus the Fearless, finishing the game with 30 points, scoring effortlessly both in the paint and on the perimeter. Ahmed Nagaya (6'4''-F, college: Buffalo St.) and Mike John (6'3''-G) both chipped in with 21 points each and Nagaya scored 18 of his 21 points in the 2nd half.
Jermaine Sanders (6'5''-F-92) scored 19 points, making plays from both the perimeter and the post. He was also able to make countless plays for his teammates by using his ball handling ability to break down the defense. Power forward Idris Agabje muscled in 13 points and collected 12 rebounds, and guards William Modeste (6'1''-G-81, college: Polytechnic) and Seon Jack (6'1''-G) scored 10 points and 8 points, respectively.
The Pride enter the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. The team will play their first round playoff game Saturday afternoon at Bishop Loughlin in Brooklyn, NY against the fifth seed Brooklyn Blazers.
