Thursday, July 9, 2015

NYBL Represented in AAU U-13 Final 4

Team Melo-AAU U-13 Runner-Up
By the time the U-13 AAU Nationals wrapped up in Greensboro, NC earlier this week, 2 NYBL teams had punched their thicket to the final 4 and were still in the hunt for a championship. The Maryland-based Team Melo is certainly no stranger to national championship games, as just a few short week ago they battled the Oakland Soldiers in the championship game of the NYBL Finals in Columbus, Ohio. As was the case in Columbus, Team Melo fell short, ultimately finishing second to Mike Saunders’ George Hill Rising Stars squad. Without some of their star players, Coach Bill Francis’ team still managed to scratch and claw their way to the final game.  From most accounts, the play of Jeremy Roach was spectacular, as he willed his team to the championship game.

San Diego Select-4th Place
Steve Wade’s San Diego Select team had a good run through the NYBL season, and although they stumbled a bit in the league finals in June, they were well prepared to make a run to the AAU Final 4. After defeating a CBC Elite (another NYBL team) in the quarter-finals (52-42), San Diego faced off against George Hill in the semifinal game. San Diego would take the eventual national champion to the wire, but would eventually come up short (46-45) and have play for 3rd or 4th place. In the semifinal consolation game, San Diego would suffer a second straight loss at the hands of the New York Gouaches (56-61) and finished 4th. Not only did NYBL teams represent half of the Final 4, there were a total of 5 NYBL teams in the Elite 8 (Oakland Solders, CBC Elite and Team Loaded Red). Congratulations to all of the NYBL teams that placed at the AAU Nationals this week. Finally, congrats go out to Mike Saunders Sr. and the George Hill Rising Stars for taking the championship!

9 comments:

  1. Good job to all the players that are 13 that represented and showed the world that true 13u can play good ball. All the NYBL 13u made a great run without the older kids. The Melo vs Soldier game was quite a show with the game having to be stopped and moved due to the crowd.

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  2. Will you be at the 12u nationals? D2 nationals are stacked in talent with new world, bmore finest, king James shooting stars, and buckeye prep. There is gonna be a lot of good battles

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  3. Why play D2 if yall so stacked wit talent?

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  4. Why you worried about what Division a team is playing on? Your kid ain't even playing. On any Division level.

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  5. Team Melo was present at 13u AAU with ALL of its star players and to suggest otherwise is disrespectful to the accomplishments of this team of talented young men.
    Don't get the game twisted... There's levels to this!

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  6. Where was Toles and Hoggard? Aren't they with Team Melo?

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  7. They are to old for 13u nationals.

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  8. This cant be the same King James in D2 that won MIT?

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