Champions Crowned at Gym Rat Challenge

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, May 31st, 2010

BABC 15’s Win Another

The Boston Amateur Basketball Club took their latest championship on Sunday, picking up the chip at the Gym Rat Challenge. 

BABC advanced to the finals without any problem, never winning by less than 20 points.  In the final, their seventh game of the weekend, they defeated Rochester Franchise 56-45 after fighting back from a 12 point halftime deficit.  Rene Castro and Goodluck Okonoboh were the spark plugs in the second half as Castro scored all 22 of his points after halftime and Okonboh dominated the paint with totals of 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots.  Okonoboh averaged over 13 rebounds and 5 blocks per game and earned the Gym Rat u15 MVP for his efforts but was quick to credit his entire team, saying “This is a team sport and this award should be for all of us.” 

Playing so many games in a 36-hour window, BABC’s depth was crucial with a variety of different players stepping up at various times.  Wayne Selden was solid throughout the tournament, scoring in double figures in all seven games, and giving the Albany City Rocks 20 points and 5 assists in the semi-finals.  Jake Fay also did his best work in the semis, going for 15 points. 

L’Quan Arnum was inserted into the starting line-up in the quarterfinals and gave his team a boost with his playmaking on the defensive end of the floor as well as his unselfishness offensively, racking up 5 steals and 6 assists.  Arnun had another strong game in the semi’s finishing with 10 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals. 

Bobby Ahearn and Aaron Calixte also stood out in BABC’s 55-35 quarterfinal win over Quebec United as Ahearn finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds and Calixte had 8 points and 5 steals.   

Kamari Robinson had his best game in the Round of 16, chipping in 10 points and 7 rebounds to knock off the Rhode Island Breakers 62-40 while Kenny Ramos shined early with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists over Lake Champlain Lakers in pool play. 

Boston Warriors Earn Silver in u17

With 92 teams starting in the u17 bracket, the Boston Warriors were one of the final two teams standing on Sunday as they fought long and hard to get seven wins in 30 hours in order to advance to the finals, only to fall to the Jersey Shore Warriors 61-51. 

After coming out of pool play, the Warriors run to the finals began with a win over the Renegades in the Round of 32, followed by the New Jersey Panthers in the Round of 16, a win over the Granite State Jayhawks in the quarterfinals, and then a hard fought decision over the Donyell Marshall Huskies in the semis. 

Samir McDaniel and Ousmane Drame were both huge against the Huskies as the duo took over and were reportedly dominant on both ends of the floor.  McDaniel finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds while Drame had 20 and 18 respectively.  Dan Giovachini stepped up on the defensive end, as has been his pattern this spring, silencing the Huskies’ leading scorer. 

McDaniel and Drame were selected to All-Tournament First team while Dan Brooks and Marco Coppola were named honorable mentione.  Nick Grassa, Bill Claflin, Mike Rubin, Kachi Nzerem, and Darius Davis make major contributions throughout the weekend as well.