The Bingo’s All-Stars had no intention of leaving their spot atop Hoops in the Sun, but the club took a hit, down 16 points at halftime to rival DDN/Sean Bell.
“Whenever you are the champ, you don’t want to be knocked off that throne,” Bingo guard Kedyren (Kee Kee) Clark.
For the second straight year, the former St. Peter’s star ensured that didn’t happen.
Clark poured in 17 of his game-high 33 points in the third quarter to give the Bingo’s All-Stars a third straight crown and fourth in five years, 107-103, over Sean Bell Sunday at Orchard Beach in The Bronx. Clark took home his second straight MVP crown and earned his team a spot in this weekend’s Nike Tournament of Champions. Announcer Uncle G Stacks joked they should rename the tournament “Bingo in the Sun.”
“Everybody thinks the beach is an easy tournament,” coach Maxwell (Bingo) Cole said. “It’s not an easy tournament to win. … You have to deal with the weather, the wind, the heat, the pro-style game.”
There wasn’t panic at halftime. Cole’s veteran club has been in spots like this before, feeling Sean Bell, behind Tu Holloway (21 points) and Stix Williams (19 points), had played is best basketball in the first half. They turned up the defensive pressure with Quinton (T2) Hosley and Anthony (I. Robot) Glover and got a lift from Anthony (Africa) Pimble off the bench. Bingo ripped off a 13-1 run to get the lead and Clark scored four straight points to end the third to give his team a 79-70 lead heading into the fourth.
“We just wanted to grind it out,” Clark said. … “We did better than that and the rest is history.”
Corey (Homicide) Williams, who has won nothing but titles since joining Bingo three years ago, played the role of closer. The streetball legend came alive, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Williams tallied seven straight points, including a traditional 3-point play, to give Bingo its biggest lead of 94-83 with 5:10 remaining. Sean Bell got as close as 101-99 on a Holloway 3-pointer.
Antwan (Anti-Freeze) Dobie tallied 19 points for Bingo and B.J. (The Beast) McFarland dropped in 22 points.
“I wanted a 3-peat, man,” Williams said. “I’ve been playing streetball since 2000. I’ve been able to get a lot of accolades along the way, but to 3-peat is something I’ve never done anywhere.”