Honka Playboys entered the Finnish Korisliiga playoffs as no. 1 championship contenders after mid-season trades which brought in experienced role player Elias Kajander, Finnish national team power forward Tuukka Kotti and Denmark national team's starting point guard Chanan Colman. Honka had indeed the best individual players in the league, but after only three semifinal games, they found themselves swept against hustle-and-grind team Namika Lahti (lead by former German Bundesleague slam dunk champion Ray Nixon and NCAA 2001/2002 scoring champion Jason Conley).
After losing the semi-final series 0-3, Honka had an opportunity to grab the bronze medals at home, but long and tall Tampereen Pyrintö, which featured an impressive starting five of 7-0", 6-10", 6-8", 6-5" and 6-5" tall players, defeated Honka 74-83. It's sure going to be a rebuilding year for those Honka Playboys.
You can't blame Akeem Scott, though. Scott never became that true point guard he wanted to be, but he had the fighting spirit, the intangibles and the will to make his team better. In regular season, Scott averaged 17 points, 4,1 rebounds, 2,2 assists, 2,5 steals and 2,3 turnovers a game with percentages of 58,3% (2pt), 30,0% (3pt) and 72,0% (Ft).
In playoffs, Akeem the Dream registered 16 points, 4,3 rebounds, 1,9 assists, 1,9 steals and 2,4 turnovers a game, with percentages of 48,5% (2pt), 46,5% (3pt) and 74,1% (Ft). Despite finishing only fourth in Finnish Korisliiga play, Scott will be remembered as a willing player whose pure hustle brought Honka Playboys their second consecutive championship while Petteri Koponen was sidelined with an injury.
Thank you for all the memories, Akeem!
-H.T.
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