Rain Halts Debut Playoffs of Wayland Outdoor Basketball League

Only minutes before the scheduled opening tipoff of the first round playoff contests of the inaugural Outdoor Basketball League, Mother Nature decided to make an unfortunate visit.

With the Greens and the Reds slated to face-off at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in the first of two matches at the outdoor courts of Wayland High School, torrential rains were pelting the court, forcing a postponement.

As a result, both games, the first between Greens and Reds along with the second matchup between the Whites and Blues will be rescheduled for Thursday night.

“We really tried to get the games in due to the logistics and availability of some of the guys,’’ said League Commissioner Ian Bonner, a Wayland High graduate and currently a football player at Bryant University. “Things looked good for a while, and the rains let up for a bit, but unfortunately, they started up again right around game time, and it was just too unsafe for everyone to play. We can’t risk any injuries to the guys playing out on the court.”

In Thursday’s first of two contests, the Greens, who finished in third place overall with a 5-5 mark will battle the Reds, the sixth place squad with a 2-8 mark. Following the conclusion of the 6:45 game, the Blues, will battle the Whites in a fourth and fifth seed match-up slated to take place at 7:30.

“The weather forecast looks great for (Thursday), so hopefully we won’t have any issues with rain,’’ said Bonner. “Everybody’s looking forward to competing in the playoffs.”

The Blacks and Oranges (Corals), who finished in a first-place tie, each with 8-1 marks, earned first round byes and will return to the court in next Tuesday’s round to take on the winner's of Thursday's contests.

Leading the Green squad is captain Matt Crismond followed by Jon Bryant along with Wade Critides, Mark Bonner and James Ivker. Other contributors to the squad will be Tyler Fisher, Emily Ivker along with Webb Gordon and Mike Antonelli.

Leading the Red squad will be captain Joe Cerrone along with Teddy Bridgman and Nick Hodge followed by Andrew Keefer, Adam Lewin, Max Greene, Tyler Moss, Bobby McCart and Nick White.

The Greens secured a tight 25-23 victory when the squads met earlier in the season.

In Thursday's 7:30 match-up, the Whites will be led by team captain Keith McGonigle followed by Dave Crismond, Dana Sharry and Matt Hart. Other contributors include Mark Foreman and Ben Wiseman along with Matt St. Jean, Christian Kliburn, Taylor Bridgman and Mike Tracy.

Leading the Blues will be captain Graham Clark along with Jeff Brewington, Andrew Saltzman and Steve Saltzman. Other key assets for the Blues include Dan Keefer, Jeff Walch, Bob Crook, Brian Coons, Derek Brisson and Matt Bernstein.

Following Thursday night’s first round match-ups, the winners will advance to Tuesday (Aug. 16) night’s round against either the Blacks or Oranges (Corals) followed by the championship game on Aug. 18.

Editor's note: The Oranges changed their color to the . The change is noted above. The team will be referred to as the Corals throughout Patch's playoff coverage.