(BOYS) Historical Handsworth Vs. Argyle Matchup Has Handsworth With Goal of Three-Peat

Handsworth v. Argyle

You read that right - Handsworth v. Argyle - a matchup with enough history you could write a book about it. Here we are in Handsworth’s gym, for what will be the final time the Royals take the court in this gym in the No Regrets Tournament, as they are within months of getting access to their new gym facility. The banners on the walls and the numbers in the rafters give a small glimpse into the history of the gym, one that holds a special place in many hearts. Dry those tears (speaking personally), let’s get this all North Shore semi-final matchup underway!

There was blood before tip-off; #2 for Handsworth, Christiansen, had bandaged up his right hand to slow down the bleeding. We kept an eye on the hand to see if his handle or shooting was affected by the additional fabric he is forced to keep on his hand. And we are off - Pipers won the tip and earned themselves a couple of free throws to take the early lead. #22 for the Pipers, Bassam, eyed up his defender and he gave him the shake, he gave him the shimmy and then he dished the rock and #7, Ross, completed the sequence by dropping the jimmy. Argyle’s early game plan appears to be pressure-pressure-pressure; both in the full court and on the half court perimeter. Thus far it has proven effective giving them a 6-point lead. You can see Glen Chu, former Pipers’ coach, up in the stands with a smile on his face (under his mask) as he witnesses some strong fundamentals from the visiting squad. 

It is early, but this is what we hoped for - hard-nosed gritty defense, making life miserable for their opponents. It seems that the Pipers have a deep bench, as we just witnessed a full hockey shift change with 5 off - 5 on at the midway point of the first quarter. Chistiansen looked  to take advantage of his strength and size from the guard position, but breaking his player down in transition and finishing the and-1. In what the Royals fans feared, the bloody hand of Christiansen forced him to temporarily come out of the game, but “I have ice in my veins” #8 Demir for Handsworth happily came in to make the free throw and complete the 3 point play. A nice counter by the Royals had them back within 2, with a couple minutes left in the first Q. Argyle finished the quarter strong and extended their lead to 9 heading into the second quarter. 

End of First Quarter Score: Argyle 21: Handsworth 12

#9 for Handsworth, Gorospe, wasn’t a fan of being down 9 and has come out strong with a couple of back-to-back buckets to pull his team back within striking distance. The recent surge had the Royals within 5 a few minutes into the Q. Big man Bassam came streaking back on defense and sent the layup attempt into the first row. Handsworth has found some rhythm offensively in terms of ball movement and finding the open man, but have struggled to capitalize on these opportunities by missing their open looks. #20 for the Royals, Mah, finished off the nice dribble penetration with the up and under, finishing among two big boys. The Pipers have extended this lead into double digits - you have to imagine the Royals are focused on bringing the gap down into single digits before the half. A fairly low scoring, defensive half of basketball has resulted in the Pipers being up 10 entering the half. 

Halftime Score: Argyle 36: Handsworth 26

Halftime Fact: This game has tested all of my journalism professionalism training to write a non-biased story. 

After an incredibly entertaining halftime show by the junior 3D squad, including none other than Junior Chu, we are back to the big boys’ game. The Pipers started the second half in a similar fashion to the first, relentless defense and knocking down enough shots to push their lead to 16 points halfway through the quarter. The crowd and Handsworth’s bench tried to inject their team with a jolt of energy, hoping the home team could make a run and make this competitive down the stretch. So far today, every time the Royals seem to be making a push the Pipers were ready, standing tall and quickly in counter-attack mode. Handsworth struggled to find their identity on the offensive end - at times showing glimpses of their potential, just not able to bring it all together today, so far. Argyle has been consistent - and it is working; relentless defense forcing turnovers and making the open shot has been the successful combo. #3 for the Royals, King, went into Steph Curry mode and knocked down a 3 from close to the logo right before Christiansen came up with a steal and layup to finish the quarter: Royals down 9.

If you look closely in the stands, you can see the likes of some Argyle alumni who weren’t willing to miss this one; even in the away gym which Piper alum Ben Frisby is on record saying still gives him nightmares. 

End of Third Quarter Score: Argyle 53: Handsworth 44

Frustrations boiled over for the Pipers bench in between quarters, and a change in attitude for the Royals entering the final quarter has us set up for an entertaining finish to this game! Although it had not always looked easy for Handsworth today, there was been a ‘no quit’ mentality that had been evident and was now paying off as they have pulled themselves to within 2 possessions of the Pipers. #7 for Handsworth, Mackay, has been active on the inside getting offensive rebounds and earning himself a handful of free throw attempts; keeping his team in the game and forcing his opponents into foul trouble. The pull-up jumper by Christiansen to come within 3 of the Pipers, is quickly countered with the nice finish inside on the other end.

The D by the Royals has elevated to a new level in the fourth - making the Pipers earn every bucket, of which there have not been many. With under 2 minutes to go you can feel the intensity rise in the gym; so much so that #21 for Argyle earned himself a technical foul which gave the Royals a chance to tie it up. All tied up at 55 with a little over a minute to go, this is the barn burner the fans were hoping for! If you don’t love what you're seeing, you don’t love competitive sports. Argyle held onto possession and had a mid-range jumper to win the game, but it rattled out and the Royals half court shot to finish the game banged off the backboard; off to overtime we went!

Both of these times came out energized, with the stakes of a finals’ matchup against the winner of St. Georges and Lambrick Park on the line. Overtime seemed fitting. It was been a back and forth affair in overtime, exchanging buckets; with under 2 to go we were tied at 61. Argyle looked to put the pressure on now down by 2 - the full court press was on as they tried to control the pace of play. #9 Gorospe for the Royals has been solid in OT, knocking down a tough fadeaway J and controlling the offense. Two free throws by #22 of the Pipers, Bassam, had this once again tied up at 63. Christiansen was not quite ready for this to end, he broke his man down and finished the layup while getting fouled; he ended up missing the free throw and the lead stayed at 2. The Pipers had a final chance to earn the W with the 3 attempt with 15 seconds to go, but it rattled off the back rim and ended up in the hands of the Royals. Clutch free throws by Gorospe extended the lead to 4 and those points were the final nail in the coffin. Wow - what a game!

Congratulations to the Pipers on a truly tremendous effort, and a huge congrats to Handsworth who will be entering another No Regrets Tourney final later this evening. With this being the last time the Royals will play a No Regrets tournament game in this historic gym, it was everything we could have hoped for ladies and gentlemen.

Final Score: Handsworth 67: Argyle 63

No Regrets.