Well-fought battle against another strong Ali‘i team. In a lot of ways, when I watch Ali‘i and/or McCully, I see a lot of history. A lot of my old friends from McCully Youth League, Boys Club League, Boys Club All-Stars ... it's been decades, but the quality of competition, the humility and teamwork, they live on.
I just hope we always play great basketball against them. That's what it takes to outscore these guys. We had another strong effort with the key things: Intensity, Hustle, Teamwork.
It was really interesting to see Chris step up and be willing to dominate on the low post for the first time in a long time, and he sparked our rally. Our fullcourt pressure also took a toll on Ali‘i and we finished the playoffs with a nice win. In all, after losing three of our first four with a very small lineup, we won five of our last six games, most of them without a big man. It was a very strong learning experience for our guys, executing against bigger teams by using space. By using our brains. BIG brains.
Javan took an elbow to the lip and bled all over his jersey. It was quite a sight. Each of our guys has toughness and joy for the game. Big Josh, who is barely 100 pounds (I think) fought on the low post all league long against guys 50 to 100 lbs heavier. Same with Colin. Two talented, skinny guys who were all guts on defense and all skill on offense.
Yes, I still think this crew could've won the league. But from where we were in the first four weeks to where we finished (quarterfinals), we came a long, long way. Arguably one of the smartest teams we've had since starting in 2010. With CAL 13U and Maryknoll JV leagues starting, there's great potential with this group.
Today's lineup: Javan Montiho, Thomas Baptiste Takahashi, Micah Visoria, Colin Ramos, Josh M DE Jesus, Felcris Jay Corpuz Ahadain, Ryan Higashionna, Chris Afe.
Mahalo to Brandon for shooting the game video again.
Next: Sunday, 2:00 pm - Thunder vs. HomeGrown (CAL 13U), McKinley gym. Warmups/stretching 1:00 pm.
WE LUB THIS GAME!
No comments:
Post a Comment