Kronum League Round 9 - Throwback vs. Jet Sets

Revenge is a dish best served cold and the Jets Sets offered the T-Backs an in-flight meal right from their G5's First Class freezer. The second go-round between the Kronum League rivals was dominated in every aspect by the re-fueled Sky Blues and they left no questions un-answered about their status as an elite power with title-winning potential.

The bad blood between the two squads is no secret around the league. An off-season K-Rec League match ignited the hatred as a hard foul by Jet Sets' leading scorer Jeff Regensburg on Throwbacks' ranger Steve Fariss left Fariss on the turf writhing in pain with a significant head injury. Throwbacks captain  Joe Ferrigno found everything wrong with the over-aggressive block attempt and a brief confrontation ensued. In their initial matchup of the KL 2011 season during Round 5, the Throwbacks took advantage of poor game management, ball control, and shot selection on the Sets' behalf as they were missing a captain crosser in Matt Parsons and the league points leader in Regensburg. The Throwbacks dug out an 82-74 victory prompting a guarantee from Regensberg via Twitter that the the T-Backs would never again defeat the bitter Sets.

So far, his Twitter post remains accurate. They pounded the feisty T-Backs into submission during the Round 9 grudge-match. Aided by game-high 42 points from Regensburg himself, the Sets had their opponent turned every which way but loose as their physical play and prolific offensive talent landed them a vengeance-filled 123-99 victory. But it wasn't even that close. Right off the Prime Rush, ranger Anthony Barbera lifted the Sets off the runway with a 4-point ring from the Flex Zone and the rout was on. Mike Schaeffer (10 points) added an 8-point Kronum, Matt Parsons (14 points, KL record 14 assists) buried two 4-point Cross Zone throws, and air traffic controller Nick DeLuca (10 points, 6 assists) threw down two thunderous Crown Ring dunks. The T-Backs countered with 8 points from wedgeback Ryan Hoff ( 12 points, 8 saves) in the 1st but the Jets' engines were too loud and they launched themselves to a 14-point lead at 47-33 after one.

The "Battle of the Burgs" was the highlight of the 2nd period. Teammates Regensberg and crosser Steve Vandenberg (18 points, 4 assists) seemed to have a friendly bet on the side on who could score more points in the frame. The two carried the Sets, accounting for 26 of their teams 35 points, all coming from 2-point Flex Zone throws. @JRegz collected the cash with 7 scores to Vandenberg's 6. Rangers Steve Fariss (16 points) and Bret Young (10 points) tried to keep the Throwbacks in contention with 8 and 6 points, respectively. John Graham (8 points, 10 saves) filled in nicely at wedgeback for injured starter Jim Bradley, collecting 8 saves to lead the defense effort.

As Parsons' worked on on his record setting assists-in-a-single-game total in the third, Regensburg went nuts on the T-Backs "D", or what was left of it. In addition to Nick Ferraro's and Bradley's absence, rookie sensation and amateur acrobat James "Cell Block T" Thomas was playing with an injured hip that definitely affected his reaction time and mobility in the Goal Zone. Regensburg pegged the back of every net on the round, including a 4-point Ring, and blew up for 20 points in the final 20 minutes. The T-Backs connected for two coveted 8-point Kronums in the 3rd, courtesy of Crosser Kevin Casero (12 points) and wedgeback Steve Botta (16 points), but it was all but over by the time they decided to go for the glory of the rings. Aside from two 8-pointers, the T-Backs were only able to muster 6 scores in the period as Sets' wedgebacks Zach Van Fossen (9 saves), Jim Andorko (8 saves), and Scott Reimer (7 saves) collectively shut down shooters for 14 stops. The Jet Sets glided to a 123-99 win to move to 5-4 heading into final week of the regular season and the Throwbacks fell to 3-6.

Round 10 puts the T-Backs against a winless but improving Work Horses team determined to go out on a positive note while the Jet Sets look to knock-off the first place Nimble Jacks in hopes of improving their playoff seed ranking.

The action starts this Sunday, 1/8/12 at 10:00 am.

Join the Revolution at www.kronum.com

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