Thursday, July 9th was all about the NDZ family running the Clutch Time Association. Let's start with NDZ Wolves and NDZ Reapers — both squads went 2-0 on the day, and they did it with some of the filthiest individual performances we've seen all season. NDZxGREASE was an absolute menace against the Tortugas, dropping 34 in Game 1 and 33 in Game 2, while also racking up double-doubles in both — 10 assists in the first game, 13 in the second. That's a two-game stretch that should have the whole league on notice. The Wolves took both, 85-77 and 90-87, sweeping the series and pushing their record to 4-2.

Meanwhile, over in Tortugas territory, themightyduck211 was doing everything he could to will his team to a win. He pulled off a genuine triple-double in Game 1 — 11 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists — and followed it up with another double-double in Game 2 with 14 and 13 boards. Heroic effort. Just not enough. On the other side of the NDZ bracket, NDZ Reapers swept Crafted not given 86-78 and 90-78. NDZxtaylormade led the way in Game 2 with 27 points and 15 assists — a double-double — and TheRealRafy of Crafted not given refused to go quietly, posting double-doubles in both games: 24 points and 16 assists in Game 1, 23 points and 17 assists in Game 2. The man was cooking on a losing stove.

The three-game series between Ski university and Team USA was must-see TV. Ski university took Game 1 67-55 and Game 3 82-74, but Team USA grabbed Game 2 67-62 to keep things spicy. xX1WayJayXx was the engine for Ski university all series long — double-doubles in Games 1 and 2, leading the team in rebounds across all three games, and finishing with a 15-board effort in the opener. No Box Here went off for 33 in the series finale to seal it. For Team USA, NDZxProsper led all scorers in Game 1 with 29 — but it wasn't enough to stop the home crowd from celebrating. Ski university moves to 2-1 on the day and rides a win streak heading forward.

Big picture: NDZ Reapers sit at 2-0 and are averaging 88 points a night with a plus-10 point differential. Come thru trim still holds the best record in the league at 6-1. And The saviors remain winless at 0-4, stuck on a four-game skid with a brutal minus-18.7 differential. Somebody's gotta stop the bleeding down there.