Next Round Bound: Raptors Uprising GC ends group play with narrow defeat to Lakers Gaming

Raptors Uprising GC concluded their group play campaign of the Slam Open with a narrow 3-2 loss to Lakers Gaming, marking the team’s third five-game defeat of the tournament so far.

This series was another indication of how closely matched the teams have been, which should foreshadow an exciting next round for Roy Krishnan’s squad.

Haam, Mooch, and Putback were once again deployed as the team’s starting three as Raptors Uprising looked to record a second straight series victory over LA.

After dropping Game 1, Mooch spearheaded a Toronto fightback to level the series in Game 2. There was no denying how tight of an affair this was set to be following only two games.

Although Raptors Uprising continued to push the tempo, it was to be LA’s day in the end as they took Game 5 to round off group play in the win column.

On the night, Mooch finished with a whopping 54 points and 13 assists, while Putback also helped himself to a double-double, recording 10 points and 14 rebounds. As for Haam, 35 points capped off another solid night for the forward.

Post-game, Toronto’s head coach spoke on this series his team should have won in order to have been a top 10 seed ahead of bracket play.

“Definitely a tough one, a game and a series we should have won, it left a sour taste in our mouth,” expressed Krishnan.

“It’s part of having a young team, there are ebbs and flows to every season and in every loss there’s a lesson, and this lesson was to be a little more clinical and convert on the opportunities given to us.”

A third five-game defeat in group play may have hit the team’s morale, but Krishnan remained confident in the fact that these moments of adversity will only help the team reach new heights.

“At the end of the day, these are the moments that build character, these are the types of moments that show you what type of team you have, the types of moments where you can look back at the end of a successful season and say this is the point where we decided to be all in.”

Now looking ahead to bracket play, Krishnan knows just how good his team can be against anyone when they’re playing their best basketball.

“When we play our best ball, it seems like we’re unbeatable,” Krishnan said confidently.

“Even in our losses, we’ve come down to the wire. I think the best way to prepare for an opponent you don’t know is to focus on yourself.”

“I know no matter who the opponent is and no matter what the challenge is, we’re going to be able to compete against the No .1 seed if we can go out there and play good Raptor basketball…”

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