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.

                  Local players from Bergen and Passaic counties looked good in the annual North/South Allstar game in Toms River, N.J. sunday afternoon. Eastside’s Karon Abraham, who will be attending Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pa. led the way for the locals in a 129- 110 North loss to the South. Abraham finished with 16 points and tied with Passaic’s Tyshawn Pickett as the North’s leading scorer in the game. Most impressive was the fact that Abraham also won the Dunk Contest at halftime. At 5’8″ tall he showed great vertical ability to go along with creativity. Kennedy’s Asmar Edwards also played well scoring 11 points and being the regular nuisance he is defensively. Pascack Hills Mike Friedberg only scored a bucket, but it was an emphatic slam as he showed he was capable of banging with the big boys of the South. Last, but not least Javae King- Gilchrist did not score a point, but he proved to be a great playmaker throughout the game as he created shots for many of his allstar teammates. 2,000 point scorer Justin Crosgile of Depaul H.S. who will be attending St. Joseph University in Pa. was selected to play, but chose not to.

      The dream season has come to an end as Eastside H.S. fell short of it’s goal of winning the Group 4 State Championship losing to Lenape Highschool 68-48. Eastside overcame a Lenape 8-0 run to start the game and fight back to take a 23-19 halftime lead. It all came apart in the 3rd quarter for Eastside as they were outscored 17-4 to fall behind 36-27 and had trouble recovering due to the half court sets that the Indians ran, as they were patient and played on the Ghosts over aggressiveness to get easy baskets. Point guard Mike Celestin (12 pts., 5 assts., 4 rebs.) controlled the tempo and helped Lenape blow it open with a 32 point 4th quarter. C.J. Meyer led Lenape H.S. with 18 points and was named M.V.P. of the game. Isiah Dixon added 13 points with 5 rebounds, while Pete Dinich was a key contributor scoring all of his 13 points in the second half to go along with 5 assists. Eastside’s “Big Three” scored 42 of the Ghosts 48 points. Karon Abraham and Dave Robertson-West each scored 15 points, while Bryant Lewis added 12 and was named player of the game for the Ghosts.

Notes: After the hurt of this painful loss subsides in a few days, Eastside will look back and be very proud of the accomplishment they have achieved this season. They overcame an 0-4 start  to go on a ride for the ages. As the years go by this team will be recognized as one of the greatest teams in the history of Eastside basketball. Eastside has had many special teams,but only the 1975 squad ever went as far as this team has. Special mention has to go to their star seniors, Karon Abraham, Dave Robertson- West and Bryant Lewis. They will go down as three of the greatest players to ever put on the uniform because of how far they have gone the past two years. Two Group 4 Sectional Championships and a Group 4 North Championship. I am not ashamed to say that Abraham has a special place in the heart of Hoops Journal and West is one of the toughest players for his size in the state. Abraham will be attending Robert Morris University next year and while West and Lewis aren’t sure where they will be next here’s hoping nothing but the best for all three. So when the frustration and crying calms the Eastside family should take the time to give these three and their teammates a standing ovation and thank them for making you proud! They deserve it!