Le King of Crunch

“The Bomb from Vietnam” John Le lived up to his name when he exploded to win two of the four Crunch games at the Cedar Mill Ballys in Portland, OR, last Saturday, February 2, 2008, against Edwin Tanedo, Rene Barzaga, Scott Nelson, and Jonas Reyes. Le drained three 3-pointers in each of the two games he won and was close to perfect from the free throw line. Barzaga and Tanedo each won one game.

For those unfamiliar with “Crunch”, it is also known as “21″, where every player is for himself and the goal is to score exactly 21 points. Here are the rules of the variation of the game that Octane Infinity plays:

• The game starts with a player shooting an uncontested shot from the 3-point line. As the shot goes up, the other players vie for the rebound, the ball is considered “live”, and the players may guard the ballhandler.
• For each change in possession of the basketball, the player must clear the ball at the 3-point line. Once cleared, only then may the player shoot the ball. Scoring is the same as a regular basketball game, where shots made outside the 3-point line are worth 3 points and field goals made inside the 3-point line are worth 2 points.
• When a player makes a field goal, he shoots free throws, each worth 1 point, until he makes three in a row or misses a shot. However, the ball is again considered “live” as soon as the free throw shooter misses. The rebounder must then clear the basketball to the 3-point line before taking a shot, and at which point, the baskets are back to being worth 2 or 3 points.
• If the free throw shooter makes all three free throws in a row, he then takes possession of the ball to the top of the key, where the other players may guard him, and the field goals are worth 2 or 3 points.
• The winner is the first player to reach exactly 21 points. If a player with 20 points misses a free throw, the next basket that player makes will put him over 21, which then results in reducing his score back to 13.

Credits

Photographer: Edwin Tanedo
Writer: Jonas Reyes