The weekend of June 26th and 27th the CAVS 11U headed to Northern California to participate in the Oakland Soldiers "Battle of the Bay" tournament. The CAVS 11U are earning respect amongst the Northern California travel circuit, as they have beaten some of the elite teams. There were several teams looking forward to having another chance to avenge their previous losses.

First up for the CAVS 11U was the Oakland Rebels team. The CAVS started the game very slowly as their shots were not falling early on. The CAVS offense seemed stagnant and the players struggled to find open shots. With 3 minutes to halftime, the CAVS trailed 9 – 11. The CAVS defense started to make its presence felt and come alive. The CAVS defense made some great plays and stole the ball multiple times. Taj Regans and DJ McDonald hit some lay-ups and open shots to give the CAVS a boost before halftime. The CAVS rallied back and at halftime, the teams were tied 18 – 18. In the second half, the CAVS offense finally came alive. Chasen Pender and Mike Irving were able to use their strength to score down low. Brian Deveraux started to find the range on his shot. The CAVS scored on a series of lay-ups on fast breaks, including a lay-up by Colden Davis. With only 4 minutes remaining in the game, the CAVS were holding a commanding 35 – 24 lead. The CAVS went on to win 41 – 30.

The CAVS 11U then matched up against the Norcal Blaze for the final pool play game. The game started quickly as both teams wanted to run the floor. Similar to the first game of the day, it took a few minutes for the CAVS offense to come alive. Elijah Walker and DJ hit a few open jumpers, and mid-way through the first half the CAVS still trailed 13 – 14. The CAVS kept up their defensive intensity as Jordan Wilder and Isaiah Roby came in off the bench to provide solid defense. DJ and Brian started to drive to the basket to get the Blaze in foul trouble. With only 5 minutes until halftime, the teams were tied 18 – 18. The CAVS pushed to gain the lead before halftime. Chasen and Mike both scored from the post. DJ started connecting on all his shots, and at halftime the CAVS led 29 – 26. In the second half, the two teams continued to trade baskets. With only 10 minutes left in the game, the CAVS only led by 1 point with a 31- 30 lead. DJ and Brian continued to lead the charge on offense. Elijah hit an open shot, and slowly the CAVS began to build a larger lead. The CAVS 11U went on to win 53 – 40.

On Sunday the playoffs started, and the CAVS found themselves matched up against the Predators. The CAVS had recently beaten the Predators during the Memorial Day weekend tournament, and the Predators were eager to match-up against the CAVS one more time. The Predators started the game quickly. The Predator guards jumped out early making plays and scoring some easy baskets. The CAVS guards made some mental mistakes early that cost them. Mid-way through the first half, the teams were tied 12- 12. DJ’s sharp shooting was punishing the Predators as his teammates continued to feed him the ball for wide open shots. With 5 minutes to halftime, the CAVS were leading 19 – 14. The team was working on building a more commanding lead. It was a very physical game as the referees were not making a lot of calls. James Watson dominated in the post as he made his presence felt grabbing rebounds. At halftime, the CAVS led 32 – 18. In the second half, the CAVS continued to apply defensive pressure full court. Taj, Elijah and Brian swarmed the Predator guards forcing multiple turnovers in succession. The Predators started getting into foul trouble, and with only 5 minutes left in the game the CAVS 11U were dominating with a 40 – 23 lead. The CAVS would go on to beat the Predators 45 – 25 and move on to the championship game against the Oakland Soldiers.

The stands were filled with people as the home town Soldiers were ready to take on their nemesis from Southern California. The Soldiers had waited all weekend to match-up against the CAVS. The game was moving at a furious pace as both teams were pushing the ball up the court at full speed. The Soldiers guards were driving to the basket every opportunity they got. Mid-way through the first half the CAVS led 16 – 15. The CAVS continued their full court defense. The CAVS swarmed the court to double team the Soldiers guards to force them to pass the ball elsewhere. Although the referees were calling multiple fouls against the CAVS, the team continued their defensive pressure. James dominated the post play as he scored on multiple offensive rebounds. At halftime, the CAVS had built a 28 – 18 lead. In the second half, the CAVS continued the full court pressure and forced multiple turnovers. The Soldiers could not score from their offensive sets, and James continued to score in the post. DJ connected on some 3-pointers and the CAVS led 37 – 21 with 10 minutes left in the game. The CAVS held on to the double digit lead for the remainder of the game. The bench players came in to seal the victory. The CAVS 11U won the championship 44 – 32, and once again the team left an impression on all those that watched the game. Great job.

                       

Even though it was Father’s Day weekend, the CAVS 11U found the energy to participate in the HAX Summer Jam Tournament June 19th and 20th. The CAVS 11U have been playing every weekend for the past two months, and with some of the players nursing injuries, the CAVS scraped together 6 players to get by for the weekend. The CAVS faced the HAX Red team in the first pool game. The CAVS guards made their mark early in the game. DJ McDonald and Elijah Walker took advantage of their speed. Both guards swarmed the court on defense and picked up easy points with multiple lay-ups. Early in the game, the CAVS 11U led 9- 0. Colden Davis and Mike Irving took care of the defensive rebounds, which led to easy fast break points for Taj Regan. Isaiah Roby came in off the bench to provide relief minutes as all the players scored in the game. The CAVS went on to win with a final score of 50 – 13.

The next game for the CAVS was against the ABA Hoopraiders. The CAVS looked to their captain DJ to start the game with the right tone. DJ’s sharp shooting had the CAVS in the lead 19 – 7 midway through the first half. The CAVS defense kept the Hoopraiders offense in check, and on the offensive side Mike went to work down low scoring easy lay-ups. At halftime, the CAVS led 29 – 13. In the second half, the CAVS pulled together for a great team effort on offense and defense. Taj, Elijah and DJ continued to carry the offensive load. Colden, Isaiah, and Mike played staunch defense down low. The CAVS 11U went on to win 49 – 20.

The CAVS earned the first seed in their pool and a first round bye in the playoffs. The semifinal game would be a rematch against the ABA Hoopraiders. Similar to the first game, the CAVS took the early lead. DJ penetrated the Hoopraiders defense and scored on drives to the basket. With 5 minutes until halftime, the CAVS led 18 – 5. The CAVS played great team defense the remainder of the period and held a 22 – 11 lead at halftime. In the second half, the CAVS offense started to heat up. Elijah and Taj hit some wide open jump shots to show their offensive range. The CAVS went on to win 45 – 23.

Even with the few players they had, the CAVS were undefeated and headed to the championship. With only 6 players all weekend, it would be a battle to see if the CAVS had enough energy to pull out a championship. There were a lot of fans surrounding the court as the HAX Black team would be playing in the championship. The HAX fans and parents were positive that this would be the time for them to finally beat the CAVS for the first time. The HAX team was fired up, and on this rare occasion, the CAVS started the game slowly. The HAX team scored on a series of drives to the basket, and early in the first half the CAVS trailed 6 – 7. The deficit would not last long as DJ hit a series of 3 point shots to regain the lead. The CAVS full court press resulted in some easy lay-ups for Elijah and Taj. James and Mike were battling for position down low against the HAX post players. At halftime, the CAVS held a comfortable 25 – 15 lead. In the second half, the stamina of the CAVS players would be tested. Playing short handed all weekend, many of the players were playing virtually every minute of every game. Midway through the second half, HAX had cut in to the lead slightly as the CAVS lead was 34- 28. With less than 5 minutes in the game, the HAX team threw everything they had at the CAVS. The HAX players attacked the basket trying desperately to get the CAVS in foul trouble, knowing there weren’t any substitute players. The HAX players were making it to the free-throw line, but could not connect. With 3 minutes left in the game, HAX still trailed 40 – 32. The HAX players were forced to foul to try and stop the clock. Both DJ and James hit a series of free-throws to seal the victory. The CAVS won the game 47 – 40. Great job CAVS on winning another championship.

                   

With only 5 players for the entire tournament, the CAVS 9U earned their 1st championship of the 2009-2010 season. "CAVS DON'T GET TIRED” is one of the club mantras. Well these five players (Anthony Spann, Haazim Amirali, Jordan Eason, Trystan Daggs and Bryce Wigton) played the whole tournament with no substitutions and no, these players did not get tired!! The tournament theme or story-line with the CAVS 9Us was a fantastic team effort and unity; throughout this event.

1st game in POOL play was against SGV. Both teams played well in this Saturday morning match-up. The score went back and forth until the last 5 minutes. From that point the CAVS executed full-court press, played very good team defense, and was able to extend the lead and secure a victory. A first game highlight was the help defense and fantastic offensive guard combination of Trystan Daggs and Anthony Spann. Final Score: CAVS 19, SGV 12.

2nd game in POOL play was against High Desert Crush. This team was to be the CAVS emotional rival. Details to come in the semi-final game on Sunday. The CAVS 9U built a big lead and never looked back! They were up as many as 20 points in the 1st half. The High Desert Crush had a very tall forward/center in an attempt to stop Jordan Eason and Haazim Amirrali. These two players helped lead the CAVS to a victory. Final Score CAVS 44, High Desert Crush 6.

With two victories in pool play the CAVS 9U went straight to the semi-finals as the #1 seed against the emotional rival of High Desert Crush (HDC). HDC wanted to win the emotional battle with the CAVS. Well "CAVS DON'T GET EMOTIONAL TIRED" either. The 1st half of the game was pretty close. Bryce Wigton made a key basket and foul shot to extend the 2 point lead to a 5 point lead in the 1st half. The CAVS were playing fast and furious. After all the talking and gamesmanship, the CAVS 9U stayed focus and built a second half lead. Final Score CAVS 27, High Desert Crush 9.

The Sunday afternoon 9U Championship game was against SGV. The second meeting was a mirror image of the Saturday game. Again the score went back and forth until the last 5 minutes. Some final game highlights: Jordan's rebounding and key baskets, Trytan's defense and point guard skills, Anthony penetrating to the basket and getting to the free-throw line. Final Score CAVS 35, SGV 24.

I am confident in writing the CAVS 9U had a fantastic tournament performance and look forward to playing the next tournament. Well Done, 9U CAVS!! Great effort from the 5 players---"CAVS DON"T GET TIRED!”