Monday night was a breaking point for Team Nike 2 in coach Raheem (Rah) Wiggins’ eyes.
“Today was the day,” he said. “This was Judgment Day today. If we lose to today, there is no turning back.”
Wiggins, whose team was coming off a loss to Team Queens, feared another defeat would only make future opponents bolder and brasher. Rather than absorb another setback, Team Nike 2 handed out bits of humility with wins over Team Harlem and streetball power Ooh-Way in front of a packet house at Rivington Park on the Lower East Side Monday night.
It coasted to an 84-73 victory against Antonio (Mousey) Carela’s-led Team Harlem and fended off a game Ooh-Way team, 85-78, in the main event.
“Today we had to come here and redeem ourselves,” former Xavier guard Tu Holloway said. “We knew today was a big day for us.”
The explosive guard poured in 20 points against Ooh-Way and backcourt-mate Erving Walker, a former Christ the King and Florida standout, dropped in 16. They were nearly unguardable in the second and third quarters, beating Ooh-Way defenders to the basket at will and knocking down long jump shots.
Team Nike 2 led 45-34 at the half and pushed the lead to 56-41 early in the third quarter. Kevon (Happy Feet) Lewis scored 16 points and former St. Francis Prep standout Rashad (King) Bell tallied all 10 of his points in the fourth.
“This is the Tu Tu that we signed,” Wiggins said. “This was the Xavier Tu Tu. Him and Erving Walker in the backcourt came to play.”
Added Ooh-Way coach Tony Rosa: “Tu killed us and Erving Walker hit big shots. They forced us to go zone.”
And with that Ooh-Way, the only New York team with a win over the original Team Nike, began to rally behind Gary Erving. The former Robeson standout scored a game-high 28 points. His putback of his own free throw got Ooh-Way within 64-62 with 7:58 left in the game. Team Nike, however, rattled off a 7-0 run capped by a Walker trey to build the lead back to 71-62.
Ooh-Way has played all summer without former St. John’s standout Dwight Hardy, the face of the Ooh-Way brand and its best player. Hardy is taking care of his professional career after receiving an invite to play with the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League, Rosa said. He reportedly signed a contract for next season with Italian club SS Felice Scandone Avellino in Italy’s Serie A.
“He’s in that loop now,” Rosa said of Hardy. “I think he needs to do what’s best for him.”
Ooh-Way got 15 points from streetball legend Darren (Primal Fear) Phillip and 14 points from Gary Forbes.
Team Nike 2, meanwhile, got exactly what it needed: two quality wins to push its record to 3-2 this summer with a rematch against Team Nike 1, which won the first encounter, looming in mid-August.
“It’s good to know we can actually go out there and win games,” Holloway said. “Today was a statement.”