After three schedule changes in three days leading up to the tournament, the YBA DAWGS 6th Grade Black Team ended up in arguably the toughest pool in the D1 Division.
Not ones to shy away from any team, they went into their first game against All City West, a team from Southern California. With a few players getting acclimated to the environment against a very "attack mode" team from the South, the DAWGS were within 3 points at one point of the game. But, a few lapses, while the other team is in attack mode is all it takes to find yourself down by double digits. In the end, the effort from the DAWGS was subpar and they lost the game. Joshua and Alex M. did their best to keep it close with 20 points (6 three pointers) and 10 points, respectively.
The second game of the day was against the D1 All-Stars from the Bay Area. Always a strong team, the DAWGS were down by 14 at half time. The effort was there, but the other team was simply a stronger team. Jashon did his best to rebound for the DAWGS, with 13 rebounds. Joshua led the team in scoring with 12 points. All players gave a valiant effort, but at the end of the day, the defending champion DAWGS found themselves 0-2.
After a small talk about having fun, and playing loose with no pressures, the DAWGS were looking to come back big in their next two games. And boy, did they...
Playing one game on Sunday against the SF Flying Eagles, they played their best game yet. Going back to pressure defense, and working together as a team, they blew the Eagles away. Final score: 83-37. Jashon was clearly the player of the game, with energy on both ends of the court for the entire game. He finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists - BUT had many tipped passes, tipped rebounds, and hustle plays that don't show on the stat sheet. He was clearly the best player on the court. Every player on the DAWGS had their hands in a hustle play of some sort, showing their desire to win the game. Darren (who was not there the first two games) finished with 22 points (9 of 10 from the field, and 10 rebounds), Joshua poured in 17 points (4 3 pointers) and Alex S. chipped in nine points. J. Kim played the point role handing out 6 assists.
The final game on Monday was an early morning 8:00AM game vs. Spirit Got Game. This is a very good team, that the DAWGS had not beaten in the last 3-4 meetings, so the DAWGS came with a goal: WIN THE GAME.
It was a very hard fought game - there were bloody lips, bloody noses and bodies on the floor for loose balls. Spirit played their trademark pressure defense, and forced the DAWGS to move the ball faster and more than they are used to - but the DAWGS adjusted beautifully. The DAWGS found each other cutting to the basket for easy buckets, and found themselves tied at half.
In the second half, they buckled down and again used fabulous teamwork, passing and high basketball IQ, and pulled ahead late in the game. Their defense, as well as their ability to be patient was key. The DAWGS won by 10. It was the best team effort of the tournament, and everyone contributed. Again, Jashon came out with energy on both ends of the court and got his hands in many plays, he ended the game with 11 points (multiple one handed runners), 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists. Joshua had 22 points (3 3-pointers), Darren and Bryson contributed 12 and 5 respectively, Alex M had 6 points and 6 rebounds. J.Kim did a stellar job handling the ball against aggressive defenders and finding the open man, Conor and Alex S. racked up the "stats that don't show" - like boxing out the big man, hustilng and diving on the floor to keep possessions.
To come back strong as they did, the DAWGS showed that they are a true D1 team and that they belong in that division. We had the unfortunate draw to meet some VERY good teams without a full roster. BUT, no excuses. The boys played well, and the coaches agree that a 2-2 weekend is nothing to be mad about. Most importantly, all of the team had fun hanging out between ball games. It was a good time to relax and strengthen friendships.
On Labor Day weekend, we went to Lake Tahoe over night and stayed at my parent's time share. It was a nice get-away and NO basketball all weekend! The weather was perfect. 
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