The 11th Annual Spring Fling Phase 1 Shines Again!

          The 11th  Annual Spring Fling Phase 1 sponsored by the Playaz basketball club ran by director Jimmy Salmon again brought out some of the best young talent in the metropolitan area as the  16u, 14u, 13u and 12u got to showcase themselves in the hottest A.A.U. tournament around. The Playaz had a strong 16 and 14 group while their 15’s  did not look too bad playing “up” in the 16u age group. The 5 day tournament was capped off on Chip Sunday with title games in each age group. The 12u championship was captured by the Long Island Lightning who overcame a 19 point deficit in the 1st half to be down 2 at the half. They continued  their hot shooting in the 2nd half to win going away 74-64. The M.V.P. of the game was given to Giavanni Ford who scored 19 points, including 5 treys which were all huge. The 13u champs belonged to New York’s Juice Crew. They beat the Gauchos of N.Y. 72- 66. The game was not that close as the Juice Crew had the game well in hand throughout. Isaiah Whitehead finished with 15 and Thomas Huley added 17. They were led by game M.V.P. Chancellor Ellis who finished with 21 points. Christopher Robinson led the Gauchos with 12 points. The 14u and 16u road to the “Chip” was a little more difficult as they had to win their sem-final and then play for the title. The 14u semis began with the Playaz 14’s going up against the New York Panthers and The Long Island Lightning Blue team facing the Long Island Lightning Gold . The Playaz pulled out the semi-final game to move to the chip. They beat the Panthers 61-49 as they showed a willingness to share the ball. They were led by Reggie Cameron’s 18 points and 12 rebounds and Kavon Stewart’s 10 points, 6 dimes and 4 steals. The Panther’s were led by Brian Kruger’s 11. The L.I. Blue took it to their Gold counterparts 54-45 as Jonathan Severe led the way for the Blue with 13 points and Devon Bell added 10. This set the stage for a title game featuring the Playaz and the Lightning Blue team. This game actually showcased the talents of the Playaz marquee trio of Cameron, Stewart and Josh Marquez as they jumped on the Lightning team early and held on for a 70-60 win. Cameron was named M.V.P. as he dropped 24 points to go with 11 boards. Stewart again ran the show for the Playaz scoring 13 points with 5 dimes and 4 steals. Marquez added 9 points, but more importantly caused all kinds of problems for the Lightning with his defense(6 stls.) and hustle. DeAndre Noble (9pts) and Amir Maddred also gave big contributions to the 14’s “Chip”. The Lightning was led by Severe’s 13 points and Jason Boswell’s 12. The 16u semis consisted of the Playaz 16’s against the N.Y. A.B.C. while Team Philly of Pennsylvania went against The L.I. Lightning. The Playaz didn’t give the A.B.C. team a sniff as they dominated this game from start to finish, winning 87-64. The Playaz were led by guard Myles Mack who was unconscious with 33 points. Myles Davis added 18 points, while Vaughn Gray had 16 including a monster hook dunk over an  A.B.C. defender. N.Y. A.B.C. was led by Jose Rodriguez with 20 and T.J. Curry with 14. Team Philly had a little more difficult time with the Lightning beating them 76-65. Juanyere Green showed why he is such a special player leading Philly with 19 points. In a game thought to be  very competitive the Playaz again made it look easy and have now established themselves early in the A.A.U. season as one of the best teams in the area. They cruised to a 79-54 win against Philly. Kyle Anderson was named M.V.P. scoring 11 points to go with 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Mack, who had a special tournament finished with 17 points as did Davis. Gray finished with 13. Green led Philly with 16. Phase 2 of the Spring Fling begins wednesday with the 15u and the 17u groups ready to lace em up.