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More Photos are available in the PHOTO ALBUM: OK, It’s finally the last week of the regular season and we should now have a good idea of what each team is made of, right? Well this week we had a few surprises. Some teams that we thought were sleepers, really put up a fight this week and just may be able to cause some upsets in the playoffs. Also, in all eight years of having this tournament, we had our first ever Triple Overtime game. It almost went into a fourth, but we will get into that later. Now on to the recap…..
Today was a quiet day for this usually active division. The coach of Pro City had a family emergency, so his team couldn't make it. This also meant that we couldn’t be treated to another pee-wee game with his 8 & Under squad vs DC Ballerz young squad. I was looking forward to that one again. Some of those kids are future star players. Well, we pushed on with a matchup of the two neighborhood teams, Tylerhouse and Uptop. Now these teams talk so much smack at each other, but we all know that it has to be backed up on the court. Tylerhouse was a little too much for UpTop today. They were led by Trese with 15 points and rolled over UpTop 38–23.
Pro City was scheduled to play the Suns this week, but couldn’t make it so we put an exhibition game together at the last minute. The only team that was left out there to play was Tylerhouse. We all know about the two very close games these two teams split over the past few weeks, so this was sort of a tie breaker. Tylerhouse came out really flat early on in this one as the Suns, led by JD with 9 points, got easy baskets in transition. This wasn’t an official game, but these teams still play for pride. So Tylerhouse came roaring back in the second half led by Marquis with 8 points, but fell short by 2 at the buzzer. They fell to the Suns 25–23. Keep your eyes on next week as these two most likely will see each other again in the finals. Stay tuned……
 16 & UNDER DIVISION Ok, we already know that Colors is a powerhouse of a team, but can they prove it against an energized 1st & O team? To answer that one in one word, “YES”. This one wasn’t really close at all. It was surprising that 1st & O didn’t put up more of a battle after they played so hard last week and almost upset the Suns. The two big men that were hitting 3’s last week, faded out this week and Colors took advantage of it. Colors got big points from DT (17pts) and Vance (13pts) to easily take this one 54–32. Get it together 1st & O, we all know you are better than your record shows! Some of the players asked Commissioner Terrance if he could be their coach next year. This is a possibility!! Since Commissioner Moose is the coach of Colors, we may see the two commissioners going at it with their teams on the court next year. Who knows….. The next game was Kenilworth vs Tylerhouse. Kenilworth was looking to let off a little steam after that embarrassing loss last week. It really showed today because they came out strong and ready. Tylerhouse was a little short handed and had some of their 13 & Under players in this one to fill in. They held their own, but it wasn’t enough. Kenilworth was a little bit too strong today. They attacked the basket and would not give up any easy points. They walked away with a 41–37 victory over a struggling Tylerhouse team. 
The last game in this division placed the Suns against Hollywood. This was the most exciting game of the day. It was also the longest game we have ever had at the New York Ave Classic Summer League. This one went into triple overtime before it was decided. It took several players from Hollywood to foul out before they lost some of their strength. The suns received 17pts from Ishmael (17pts), who also had 3 spectacular dunks in this game. He wanted to make sure we mentioned that!! But they were led by Rags with 21pts. Hollywood received the majority of their points from Son who led all scorers with 24 points. This game could have ended in regulation, but there was no defense from either team down the stretch, and at one point, Hollywood was getting rebounds like they were out there alone. The Suns stole the ball with less than 5 seconds on the clock, but the player decided to hold on to it and wait for overtime instead of trying to make a shot. He had enough time, but I guess he was a little nervous. Afterall, was a very tight game but on the other hand, this team should be used to tight games by now. They have had them all season. Either way, the first overtime proved to be more of the same, as only a few baskets were scored by both teams. So we went into a second overtime. The second overtime could not shake either team, but could have been won again by the Suns if they made their free throws. So we went into a third overtime. As time wound down and players began to foul out for Hollywood, we started to see a shift in the play. Hollywood made some careless fouls that cost them in the end. They let their emotions get the best of them and it clouded their play. The suns eventually won this one by 4pts (58–54). Hollywood is usually one of our strongest teams but have fallen short today. If they could keep their heads, who knows where this team could go. It’s all about control!! Use your temper to fuel your game and not take away from it!! That is what this tournament is all about.
19 & UNDER DIVISION 
The first game was 3rd & P up against Tylerhouse. 3rd & P has been struggling coming into this week and were looking for a little relief going into the playoffs. 3rd & P only had six players to start the game but were joined by Jayvon before the half. Since they were short handed, Cory had to take the bulk of the load again. He led the team with 11pts but they still fell short as Tylerhouse had a balanced attack led by Skeet (9pts), Derek (10pts), and Man Man (11pts). They beat 3rd & P (43–31). After the game, we interviewed Jayvon from 3rd & P. He made a bold statement and guaranteed that they will not lose another game!! This is really bold considering that they lost just about every game they played so far this season. They used to be a powerhouse in previous years. Maybe they will have all of their players for the playoffs. We will see… Next was Street Kings against Colors. Now Commissioner Moose put his team in the 16-Under and 19-Under divisions so 
The final game in this division put a team that just could not get a break this year, DC Finest against the up and down Southside Ballerz. DC Finest was able to get most of their players on the court this week which makes a big difference in their play. They were led by Ju-Ju, and looked like they would finally get their first win of the season. Now this isn’t a bad team, but they have been short handed a lot which has caused them to fall short. Southside Ballerz on the other hand have hovered over the .500 mark and you never know what kind of day they are going to have. This was a very good game though as both teams battled back and forth throughout. In the end, Southside squeaked out the win by 3pts (48–45). After the game Willie of Southside Ballerz said "We are ready for the playoffs, but just don’t put us against BallaHolics in the first round!!" Well he doesn’t have to worry about that, because this win assured them the 3rd seed going into the playoffs, so they will be in a completely different bracket than BallaHolics next week.
 UNLIMITED DIVISION This was a short day for the Unlimited teams as we only had two games. Nelly All-Stars forfeited this week for unknown reasons. It was too bad because they were scheduled to play their rival team,Young Gunners. This is always an entertaining matchup. Since Only other game Young Gunners had to play was the :39 second rain delay against We R One, it didn’t make since to do it. Besides, Coach Jarron of We R One didn’t want to finish that one. That game was so tight it stressed everyone involved! Anyway, If these two teams meet again, it will be in the Finals, because they are in two different brackets. It would be a Rematch of the 2004 finals when We R One fell to Young Gunners (Back then they were named Overdrive). Well the first game was New Mod and Green Light. Green Light has proven over and over again that they can run with the best of them. They came out the gates lighting up the baskets as J. Brown led all scorers with 18pts. New Mod got 13pts from Kevin, but it wasn’t enough as Green Light ran away with this one 50–38. We will see what happens next week as both of these teams have a difficult run in the playoffs. The final game of the day put the only two undefeated teams left in this division head to head. What a way to end |
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Weekly Recaps - 
13 & UNDER DIVISION
that they can gain some experience. This is their first time playing in this division, but many of the players are used to playing with adults in pickup games, so we will see if that helps. Street Kings had a full roster this week and still had a lot of energy coming off of last week’s win over 3rd & P. It showed as they came out the gates strong with some easy baskets. The young Colors team hung in there and kept the game very close. They were no more than a few points behind. This seemed to be all they needed because this young Colors team elevated their game late in the second half and started to wear down the stacked Street Kings team. Their usual big scorer DT wasn’t much of a factor on the scoreboard but other players like Leonard stepped up his game to pull out the close win. Street kings had a more balanced attack but fell to the young Colors team 53-46. It was a good test for the 15 & 16 year olds on the Colors squad. Now going into the playoffs, Street Kings will not see this team again unless they both make it to the finals. They would need to get by a strong BallaHolics team who had the day off after their perfect season. 
the season!! The winner of this one would get the number one seed in the playoffs. Either way, both will get a first round bye. Well, this was a late game and the only game played in this time slot, so it took center stage. In fact, Referee Valentine sat down and operated the scoreboard. This game didn’t disappoint us. The game was back and forth, but Tony O. of Madness wasn’t going to let this one slip away. He led all scorers and assured Madness the number one seed. We R One was a little short handed for this game, but still put up a show. Madness took this one 54–47. Look for these two teams to meet in the finals next week!!