(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) caption: CALL ME AL: Al Jerido of the Princeton Sports Bar and Grill heads to the hoop last Monday night in the quarterfinals of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer League playoffs. Jerido scored 11 points as third-seeded Princeton Sports Bar and Grill topped No. 5 SMB 49-38.

Jerido Sparks Princeton Sports Bar and Grill as it Advances in Summer Hoops Playoffs

Bill Alden

Al Jerido wasn’t happy as his Princeton Sports Bar and Grill team started sluggishly last Monday in the quarterfinals of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer League playoffs.

The third-seeded Princeton Sports Bar and Grill squad misfired and barked at the refs as it led by just 19-17 over No. 6 SMB at intermission at the Community Park courts.

As the second half started, Jerido decided to set the tone by racheting up the intensity. In the opening moments of the period, the point guard made a steal and converted it into a lay-up and then chucked a full-court pass to assist on an Evan Johnson bucket.

Jerido’s play sparked a 7-1 run that changed the momentum of the game as Princeton Sports Bar and Grill pulled away to a 49-38 win.

The victory advanced the team to the league semifinals on Friday where it will face the winner of the matchup between second-seeded Pennsylvania Blue Devils and No.7 Princeton Youth Sports.

The other semi will pit fourth-seeded University Radiology Group, a 35-32 winner over Dr. Palmer/Sportsmedicine on Monday, against the winner of the quarterfinal contest between top-seeded and two-time defending champion George’s Roasters and Ribs/The Ivy Inn and No. 8 BLK.

The victors of the semis will meet in the best-of-three championship series, starting on August 2.

Jerido, for his part, was determined to will Princeton Sports Bar and Grill to the semis.

“I am the general and I have to lead by example so I came out and started playing more aggressively,” said Jerido.

“I got a nice little steal. That got us going and started running a little bit. If somebody feeds off your energy, then you can get the whole unit clicking.”

Princeton Sports Bar and Grill kept clicking as it built its lead to 47-30 at one point.

“We got rid of our frustration and came out and played our type of game,” added Jerido, who scored 11 points on the evening as his team improved to 7-3 on the summer.

“We played inside out and got into our big men. Then I was able to get out in the open floor and get some easy buckets.”

Jerido credited Evan Johnson and Vernon Hicks with providing some yeoman’s work inside for Princeton Sports Bar and Grill.

“They picked up a lot of rebounds and loose balls,” said Jerido of Johnson, who scored a game-high 19 points, and Hicks, a defensive force down the stretch.

“We started getting it inside and getting easy lay-ups. Our big men came up big in the second half and realized that we outmatched them down low. We are bigger than them so we had to take advantage of that.”

In Jerido’s view, the Princeton Sports Bar and Grill will be a tough matchup in the semis.

“We are getting on the same page,” asserted Jerido, noting that the team was able to win Monday without two starters.

“When our whole team is here, we are a pretty strong unit. We are going to build on tonight’s game. In the first half, it looked shaky and then we pulled it together in the second half.”

Jerido is hoping to pull out a title, having some unfinished business after last summer when he led Cool Runnings to the brink of a title as it fell to George’s Roasters in a hotly contested three-game championship series.

“I want one in this league; I got there last year and that kind of hurt,” said Jerido, a former Bayonne High star who had a stint with the Rider men’s hoops program.

“I have a different set of players this year. Last year, I knew my team and I knew I had to come out and score. On this team, I have got other offensive weapons and I am trying to use that to my advantage. Thus year, I average a lot more assists than points.”

And last Monday, Jerido gave his club a big assist to help it come through under playoff pressure.

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