March 28, 2024
Magic Gaming Sweeps Blazer5 Gaming to Advance in SWITCH OPEN Bracket Play
PHOTO: Magic Gaming team (from left to right: Joshua “unguardable” Hunter, Darjean “ReturnofDJ” Henderson, Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano and Justin “Snubby” Stemerman) (please credit Abner Withers, Orlando Magic)
By Josh Cohen, MagicGaming.nba.com
The Lead: What we know about Magic Gaming for certain is that they have one of the best players in the world in Joshua “unguardable” Hunter, an elite stretch big man in Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano, a star rookie lock in Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares, and a defense that is extremely tough to crack.
All of that was on display on Thursday in a series sweep over Blazer5 Gaming in SWITCH OPEN bracket play.
Game 1: Several of Magic Gaming’s wins this season have ended with a forced turnover immediately followed by a game-winning 3-pointer by Unguardable. That was the case in the opener, as a Jboolin steal preceded the winning triple by unguardable in a 22-16 victory.
LowkeyGodlike led Orlando with 14 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field to go along with grabbing four rebounds, while Unguardable posted eight points and five assists.
Patrick-John “YouBots” Fadel, making his first start at point guard in the 2KL, led Portland with eight points.
“I was going to do the same thing regardless,” Jboolin said of Blazer5’s lineup change. “I just felt like YouBots would have felt a little more pressure because this was his first series playing against a pretty good team.”
Game 2: Extra time consisted of a few missed 3-pointers and settled-on twos by both teams – until LowkeyGodlike broke free and got a wide-open look from the left corner, which he sank to give Magic Gaming the 25-23 win.
Unguardable, who started his 2KL career with Blazer5 before getting traded to the Magic in the middle of his rookie season, exploded for 17 points on 7-of-11 overall shooting, while LowkeyGodlike stayed perfect in the series, going 2-for-2 from downtown for six points.
YouBots paced Blazer5 with 14 points.
Game 3: There’s nothing an opponent can do when unguardable is cooking. Blazer5 learned that the hard way in the series finale, as last year’s All-Star MVP in both 3v3 and 5v5 events racked up another 17 points on perfect 6-of-6 overall shooting, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, in a 23-17 victory to complete the sweep.
Orlando never trailed in this contest and only missed two shots.
“If we are playing D like how we did today and he (unguardable) is going, we are pretty hard to stop,” Jboolin said.
Up Next: With this series win, Magic Gaming advances to play Hornets Venom GT next Wednesday at 6 p.m. Orlando has already beaten Charlotte twice this season, both in sweeps. The first of those series took place in Charlotte during the SLAM OPEN in an in-person clash. The second was in remote group play in this current tournament.
Quote to Note: “Last tournament, we made the Finals. That shows us what we can do, and that we can really achieve something if we just all put in the work and keep trusting each other throughout every game.” – LowkeyGodlike
How to Watch: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
About Magic Gaming
Magic Gaming, based in Orlando, Fla., is one of 25 teams competing in the NBA 2K League entering its seventh season. The NBA 2K League is a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., which began play in May 2018. The league features the best 125 NBA 2K players in the world. Magic Gaming’s five-man roster competes as unique characters in 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs. Follow Magic Gaming on Twitch – OrlandoMagicGaming, Instagram/Twitter – @MagicGaming, Facebook/Magic Gaming or at www.MagicGaming.nba.com.
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