The Bay Raiders took Game 1 of the SF Pro-Am Finals and were favored to finish Bay City in Game 2 on Wednesday, considering NBA baller Juan Toscano-Anderson was expected to suit up for the Bay Raiders.
Toscano-Anderson did play in the game, much to the crowd’s delight. But Bay City wouldn’t be denied. Led by guards Kenny Woodard and Micah Elan, Bay City erased a halftime deficit and built a double-digit lead thanks to a torrid third-quarter run. They held off a late Bay Raiders rally for a 101-100 win.
After the Bay City win, the SF Pro-Am championship will be decided with a Game 3 on Friday. This is a bit of speculation, but I don’t expect Toscano-Anderson to play in that game, though he certainly might. I got the sense talking to connected people at Kezar Gym that Toscano-Anderson and the Bay Raiders expected to close the SF Pro-Am season with a win on Wednesday.
And why wouldn’t they? The Bay Raiders won Game 1 by 11 points without JTA’s help. But Woodard, a product of Terra Linda High School in the North Bay, and Elan, a San Francisco native who attended Lick Wilmerding High School in The City, didn’t let them celebrate as they had perhaps planned.
Toscano-Anderson had a chance to win the game himself, in fact, but he missed a 3-pointer as time expired. It was a thrilling game, and though JTA’s squad didn’t finish the job, the BASH gives him major props for adding some NBA flair to the event.
Plus, we get another game on Friday. To tide you over until then, here’s a portion of my tweets from the game, as I arrived early and made sure to get a front-row seat.
Bay Area Sports Hub 