Magic Gaming Closes Out SWITCH OPEN Group Play With Pair of Defeats

Just like their first meeting, a fifth game was needed to decide the winner of Magic Gaming’s series with Jazz Gaming. But unlike that first clash, which Orlando won, this time Utah came out on top. In their second SWITCH OPEN series of the night, Magic Gaming lost to DUX Infinitos in four games.

Magic Gaming Edged by Jazz Gaming in Five Games

Game 1: Despite battling back from a big early deficit, Magic Gaming’s comeback attempt fell short in a 23-18 loss.

Matthew “Matty” Grant knocked down a 3-pointer and then Robert “May” May had a dunk to pull Orlando within two at 20-18 before Ryan “RekCombos” Reteguiz, who finished with 14 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting, drilled the game-winning 3-pointer.

Joshua “unguardable” Hunter scored nine points for the Magic, while Matty had seven points on 3-of-3 shooting.

Game 2: Magic Gaming bounced back in dominant fashion.

They jumped out to a big lead and coasted to a 22-10 win.

Unguardable racked up 13 points and three assists and Matty, who had the game-winning dunk, scored nine points.

Orlando made 10 of its 12 shots overall and two of its three attempts from beyond the arc.

Game 3: Like Game 1, Orlando came out flat and couldn’t recover in a 22-14 defeat.

Utah didn’t miss a single shot, going 9-for-9 overall and 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Spencer “Ria” Wyman, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 2KL draft and a former multi-sport star in high school, scored 10 points and RekCombos had nine.

Unguardable led the Magic with 10 points.

Game 4: Iso Josh! That was the theme in Game 4, as unguardable broke down his defender off the dribble nearly every time down the floor in Orlando’s 22-18 win.

The second-year pro scored nearly all his 17 points on dunks after driving to the basket.

The Magic also didn’t allow the Jazz to create any space on the perimeter for open 3-point looks.

*Box score stats were unavailable for this contest

Game 5: Unlike in Game 4, the Jazz got hot from long range in the finale. Three of their final four shots came from beyond the arc, which allowed them to hold off the Magic for a series-clinching 23-17 victory.

RekCombos hit two of those threes, including the game winner with Matty draped all over him. TJ “Kaaze” Paturzo knocked down the other triple during that pivotal stretch.

*Box score stats were unavailable for this contest

“We played that series really close – I think we are two really evenly matched teams,” Magic Gaming General Manager and Head Coach Jonah Edwards said. “In Game 5, they had a couple possessions where we got stops and couldn’t close possessions – (they) got offensive rebounds, the ball landed their way. Very similar to the Brooklyn series on Tuesday, where we would trade games with that team all day and they were the team that came out on top (in fifth game).”

Magic Gaming Falls to DUX Infinitos in Four Games

Game 1: A couple turnovers around the midway point of the opener proved costly in Magic Gaming’s 23-13 loss.

DUX Infinitos capitalized on those mistakes with easy baskets in transition to blow the game open. They ended up making all 10 of their shots in the contest, including three from 3-point range.

Zach “Vandi” Vandivier, who hadn’t previously been part of DUX’s rotation, posted 16 points, while Brian “Killeyy” Diaz, who slid over to small forward with Vandi playing point guard, scored seven.

Unguardable had 10 points for the Magic and May added three.

Game 2: DUX raced out to an early lead and then warded off Magic Gaming for a 22-16 win.

Ashton “LowKeyGodlike” Agredano, the 21^st overall pick in the 2023 NBA 2KL Draft, led DUX with 10 points, while Vandi scored seven and Killeyy had five, including the game-winning three.

Orlando did make all eight of their shots, however none of them were from 3-point distance. Unguardable and Matty each scored eight points.

Game 3: Magic Gaming was once again efficient, making nine of their 10 shots in a 22-15 victory to extend the series.

Unguardable finished with 12 points and made the game-winning layup.

*Full box score stats were unavailable for this contest

Game 4: DUX seized momentum from the start and never relinquished it in their series closeout 21-8 victory.

Vandi erupted for 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Killeyy had six points.

“They are very good – their roster is kind of just for three v. three,” Matty said. “They have five very good three v. three players on their team…We game planned for Killeyy (at point guard). They came out with Vandi. It was kind of unexpected, but at the end of the day, we needed to handle business and we didn’t.”

 Up Next

Remote bracket play for the SWITCH OPEN starts next week. Stay tuned for opponent and schedule information.

“The biggest thing is staying composed, staying together,” Matty said. “It’s hard. We were on a little high after being 3-and-1 (last week), especially with our group being so tough, and now going 0-and-4 this week – it’s definitely hard to stay together, but experience from last year helped me a lot, helped our team a lot. I think we will be fine come next week.”