BasketBull Championships - Sunday Recap

by Luc Smith | Sunday, July 13th, 2014

The BasketBull Summer Championships wrapped up on Sunday with a new batch of college coaches on hand to check out the action.  Here’s a recap of the three championship games to go down at the Mass Mutual Center.  

Short-Handed Rivals Take Title

In the other semifinal, Maine Athletic Club (MAC) faced off against Mass Rivals. Kyle Bouchard of Maine Athletic Club put up big numbers in a Saturday win against The City, dropping 27 points in front of some high major coaches. Bouchard didn’t disappoint Sunday either.  The big, strong, wing showed the ability to bring the ball up the floor, run the offense, and score with jump shots and drives to the rim. MAC’s big man Nicholas Mayo's performance this weekend resulted in an offer from the University of Maine. However, the Rivals were too much for MAC to overcome Saul Phiri carried Mass Rivals throughout the weekend. Phiri attacks the rim, finishing or getting to the free throw line after contact. With this skill set and his three point ability, Phiri was extremely effective the entire weekend and should anticipate offers.  Rising junior point guard Wabissa Bede also had a breakout weekend, sieving the opportunity to thrive on the big stage and proving his ability to run the point at a high level.  The Rivals championship run came without five of their top prospects as Jalen Adams, Josh Sharma, Curtis Cobb, Wenyen Gabriel, and Makai Ashton-Langford were all in Chicago for the Adidas Uprising Camp.

City Rocks Win Championship

The Albany City Rocks u16 team took the championship on the right side of the bracket, knocking off the BABC sophomores after Bruce Brown went down with a sprained ankle.  Brown, one of the best 2016’s in the nation, scored 7 points before the injury knocked him out of the game.  Robert Martin Jr., who is reclassifying at the Tilton School, carried BABC as Brown was only able to watch.  Martin was very physical creating mismatches in the post that allowed him to score 18 points. Despite Martin’s strong efforts, the City Rock were able to take advantage of Brown’s injury. Andrew Platek continued his hot shooting from Saturday while Anthony Gaines continued to show off his great athleticism. Anthony Lamb, a 6’7” power forward who showed he could bring the ball up and finish in the lane, was another strong contributor to an Albany City Rock 57-46 win.

Middlesex Magic Sophomores Win Thriller

In the 16U championship game, New Heights NYC 2017 faced the Middlesex Magic. This game was easily the best of the day. New Heights started with a bang when Sidney Wilson finished with a dunk. Wilson, a 6’6” wing, was able to block shots above the rim and showed a polished shooting stroke. With Wilson and Keith Williams, who is great in the post with his ability to turn, face and hit jump shots New Heights was able to take a 28-19 lead over the Middlesex Magic at half. Magic Coach Michael Crotty had his team ready for the second half.  Post-man Matt DeWolf was able to dominate in the paint with a nice lefty hook, while guard Will Johnson read the court extremely well, hitting his teammates on backdoor cuts and slithering his way into the paint. With this pair scoring and great team defense, the Magic were able to hold New Heights to 12 points in the second half and tie the game, sending it to overtime. In the first OT with a tie game at 40-40 a Middlesex Magic foul with 1.8 seconds left got New Heights to the line for three shots.  New Heights missed all three and it went to a second OT. Magic player Matt Donohue took over in the second OT, hitting 5 of his team’s 7 points for a 47-43 win. Donohue, much like his U17 Middlesex Magic brother Jackson Donohue, has a great shooting stroke and hit a bunch of big threes.