EDINBURG — Daishen Nix and Trevelin Queen are the offensive faces of the RGV Vipers.
But for opponents, Mfiondu Kabengele is without question the true menace.
That was no different Tuesday during the Vipers’ 145-128 victory over the Delaware Blue Coats in Game 1 of the NBA G League championship series.
The 6-foot-9 Kabengele was not only the tallest presence on the floor, a rare feat this year as most teams have players raging from 6-10 to 7-2, he was also the most dominant. He scored 19 points and pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.
And when the Blue Coats tried to isolate and take Kabengele to the basket, hoping for easy buckets or fouls, they rarely found success.
Kabengele blocked a G League championship-record eight shots, and changed the trajectory of many others. He plays large, larger than he already is.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series tips off at 7 tonight in Wilmington, Delaware. If necessary, the third and decisive game will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Bert Ogden Arena.
Kabengele said earlier this season when he first looked at the roster, being the tallest on that roster, he knew he would have a critical role in the high-flying offensive style unique over the years to the Vipers. RGV head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said the strategy to attack Kabengele is nothing new.
“That’s everyone’s game plan,” Abdelfattah said. “To try and isolate ‘Fi. They see a five man and a mismatch, but ‘Fi is a very good defender. He held his own. I’m proud to watch him take the next steps for a long NBA career he has coming up. But that was the game plan and (Delaware) did a good job of it, but he did a heck of a job of it as well.”
Rebounding is the starting point to the Vipers’ run-and-gun style of play.
“In the first quarter, we didn’t crash the boards and they (Delaware) had 20 fast-break points. After that, everyone started hitting the boards,” Abdelfattah said. “That was the difference, getting 70 rebounds. I haven’t seen that in a long time, if ever.”
While Delaware likes to run as well and was the second highest-scoring team in the league, only behind the Vipers, Kabengele, Tyler Bey and Anthony Lamb aggressively attacked the glass, finding outlets for a lightning-like transition to offense. Delaware pulled down just 51 rebounds and were outrebounded on the offensive glass 25-19.
“They have really no inside presence, so we knew we were going to have to be pounding the glass,” said G League MVP Trevelin Queen, who scored a game-high 44 points. “We’re No. 1 in the league in offensive rebounds and they’re last in defensive rebounds, so we had to dominate the glass.
“He (Mfiondu) is a dominant force, on both ends of the court. When he’s locked in nobody can handle him. And it’s hard to box out five people and slow us down both. We just keep out foot on the gas.”
The Vipers are making their league-leading sixth appearance in the G League finals. They have won the title three times. No other team has more than two championships or four final appearances.
