By Connor Sauer
3-Point Contest
The Legacy Leagues Winter 18 All-Star festivities were officially underway at inSports on Monday night, capping off yet another successful season. The first of the events, the 3-Point contest, was stacked with a slate of lethal shooters from behind the arc, setting the table for an epic shooting-showdown.
The first round was dominated by Jason Hernandez of The Throne (18 points) and Luke Riccio from Shooters Shoot (16 points). However, with three openings for the final round, there was still one more shooter to be decided. Matt Zocco of Stranger Danger had tied Mike Davis of the Blue Devils with 15 points, but, Zocco had completed his score 1 second faster than Davis, giving him the tiebreaker needed to advance to the final round.
After narrowly surviving the first round, Zocco took complete advantage of his opportunity, draining 18 points in the final round. The lights-out performance put a serious amount of pressure on Riccio and Hernandez. Despite quality efforts from both players in the final round (Hernandez, 11 points – Riccio, 13 points), neither of them were able to surpass Zocco, giving him the 3-Point Shootout championship.
Zocco had an incredible season shooting the rock for Stranger Danger, functioning as the main scoring option thanks to his touch from outside (34 made 3PAs). After earning more accolades to his name on Monday night, Zocco certainly qualified himself as one of the league’s premier snipers.
Dunk Contest
The hype leading into the Legacy Leagues Winter 18 Dunk Contest on Monday night was very real. The returning champion, Eric Singleton, showed up sporting his old Lob 203 jersey that he made iconic while posterizing bodies all during the Summer 17 season. He was met with a very capable cast of high-fliers, headlined with names like Jerry Washington, Kintwon Miles, and Richard Bronson.
The first round was arguably the best round of them all, featuring full-sized men being dunked over, through-the-legs-360s, and off-the-backboard windmills. Washington even executed a perfect dunk from the free throw line, a salute to some of the games all-time greats like Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.
After the first round, the defending-champ Eric Singleton had advanced alongside Jerry Washington and Richard Bronson. An underdog through the eyes of many, Bronson opened up everyone’s eyes after pulling off an epic overhead dunk while clearing another person. Despite emphatic slams from both Singleton and Washington, neither were able to pull off a dunk that appealed to the judges in the same way that Bronson’s had, giving him the Dunk Contest championship.
Bronson had a very under-the-radar season for the Rim Breakers, so it was fitting to see him finally receive some recognition in an opportunity that he used to showcase his talents. We look forward to seeing him return next season to defend his title.
