13U: Open Court 41, Thunder 40, OT, semifinal round, NJB All-Net League. This one was too strange for me to even explain. We played well enough to win. There were a lot of questionable calls, no doubt, but that's not why we lost.
Everybody made plays to put us in position to win. We played some of our best basketball today. But, we all made errors, including some crucial ones by me. The first one was when Tanielu was called for an offensive foul on the fastbreak. I was so annoyed by the call that I forgot it was his 4th foul. Then he fouled out a couple of minutes later. I think we were still up 31-26 or so around that time. That was crucial.
Another coaching tactic that could've been better: #24 (Cain) was slicing our defense a lot. We could've gone to that diamond-and-1 defense a lot earlier to keep the ball out of his hands. The fouls we gave on him, plus other sloppy fouls, got Open Court into the bonus really early. Those free throws allowed them to chip into the lead.
Another coaching move that should've happened: Even after Tani and Chris fouled out, we had the ball in OT and Open Court just stayed back in the zone. Perfect for us since Kali‘a had four fouls. But instead of having Kyle on the point with Jared on the wing, I should've put Jared on the point and Kyle on the high post, where he is extremely effective. We could still run 7-ball with Kali‘a on the low post.
A lot of things come to mind after a game is done, more so after a close loss. We all will learn from today's game. Pain is a great teacher. I can't be mad, though, because everybody played their hearts out. We went FAR in this 13U League with a team that has only three guys who are 13 (Kyle, Tanielu, Kali‘a). I think Jared just turned 13 and Kalai turns 13 soon.
We did miss Kalai a lot today. His defense and height and smarts would've been a big factor against a tall team like Open Court. We probably would've pressed more with him on the floor. But we had enough to win this game. When you have the ball with 10 seconds left and a 2-point lead, it's usually a lock for an older team.
We are, however, quite young and mistakes will happen. When Josh missed that layup, I was upset with myself. Just before he had the ball, we got the rebound (I think) and I was yelling at the refs for a timeout. They didn't hear me. And when Kali‘a passed the ball downcourt to Josh, I wanted to yell at him to pull the ball out, run the clock out. But I didn't. Would he have heard me yelling while the crowd was so loud? Hard to say. But I regret it now.
That's why it's always true: Players win games and coaches lose games.
Let's dwell on what's ahead rather than just one playoff game. We're at that level that is truly elite. We've beaten other top local teams like the Tar Heels, Mililani Storm, OTB, etc. A few of them have beaten us, too. We're there. But can we separate ourselves and rise above?
That's the big question. If we can improve from this day on to become even better, that will make everything down the road even more successful. If we travel in July, we'll probably face a lot of great teams. Losing or winning against our rivals here by one or two points means nothing if we don't get better every day and compete strongly against some really good mainland teams.
That includes me. That includes every player. It's all right to be upset about any loss — only for a short time. Then it's time to go back to work and excel, win or lose. There's a long road ahead that could be a lot more fun, Thunder. Let's learn from every experience and stay on that road higher.
NOTE: Don't forget, 13U will have a third-place game (I think) next weekend. I'm waiting to hear back from NJB on that. CAL 15U and 13U Leagues start in two weeks (June 1). 17U will be busy with the St. Francis Varsity Summer League (starts Wednesday). 15U still has one more game next week in NJB All-Net. 12U has one more regular-season game, needing a win to clinch a playoff berth (I believe). Then the one-day playoffs on June 8; that would be a semifinal and a championship game in the same day).
NOTE #2: I'm digging around, trying to get info from the Swoosh Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas during July. We'll need money, fundraisers and a lot of good planning. I'll need help from everybody, all the parents, to coordinate this and make it happen. Can't do this alone, no way. I'd love for us to go to Denver, too, where Daniel Vela and Keanu and their family graciously offered free housing to us. But that's more time on the road, and I'm not certain how we'd respond to the HIGH elevation and thin air. Daniel says it takes a few days to adjust.
Can you guys see now why I'm excited about the future?
Stay thirsty — and hungry — my friends.
