CAVS 12U Win CA Heat Spring Fling Middle School Tourney!!

Yeah, baby. It’s true. CAVS 12U did it again, for the second TRAVEL weekend in a row during the official TRAVEL season kickoff. CAVS won the CA heat tourney this past weekend, March 26^th and 27^th at Harvard Westlake in Studio City, CA. Drama this weekend? Not so much. All was grand in happy-land.

Yep. First off, CAVS 12U met up on Saturday, at noon with ETE Hustle—a team comprised of two prior CAVS players…and others, of course….but it was good to catch up with our old friends, Mo and Jordan….and parents. Yeah. There’s something intensely awkward when having to cheer against folks you used to cheer with.

Nevertheless….CAVS 12U defeated ETE Hustle 38-19.

 The win placed CAVS 12U to square up with the tourney hosts, CA Heat. 

It is always a pleasure to see the beautiful Valerie of the Heat play like nobody’s business. The girl definitely represents and works to hold her own with the strength of our CAVS Boys. We like her because she looks “girlie” but plays hard like one of the boys. 

The boys definitely treat her no differently and show her no mercy, as it should be.

I wonder what was going through CAVS-boy Cameron Townsend’s mind as he played against his old team members of the Heat. Guess at age 12, nobody really cares. They all just want to know where the heck it is they’re going to eat after it’s all over.

CAVS 12U defeated CA Heat, 40-29. 

On Sunday evening, CAVS 12U would face off with GYGR for the championship. Okay. What is it with Sundays and evenings? Is there some unwritten youth basketball rule that expressly states that games must run late on Sunday evenings? Summer = good. All other seasons = bad. Youth B-Ball schedulers must forget that Mondays (especially mornings) are the main, busy days people hate to wake up on, love to complain about, live to dread and unanimously hate.

I’m just sayin’.

Anyhoo…GYGR has a GINORMOUS kid on it. See him above...#22? Our Mike Irving towers over folks, but above, he looks like...well...ME vs. Shaq. As if. I thought Chris from Flight Elite was big, but yoowee….this kid from GYGR is bigger. Huge. Anybody need a bodyguard? If I didn’t know any better I’d think GYGR stood for Great Youth Giant Reform. Jeez. It’s not a complaint, but an observation. He walked past me and completely blocked out the lights, he was so massive. Not that I’m that tall to begin with, but hey…I have excellent judgment of distance and length.

However…our 12U boys held their own - administering that tough CAVS defense and the ability to light the gym up with their creative offense. 

 The bottom line? CAVS 12U defeated GYGR, 40-19, winning the championship. GO CAVS 12U!! GAME ON, BABY!!

Next stop…Las Vegas Elite Tourney in Vegas this coming weekend, April 2^nd-3^rd, 2011!! ARE YOU READY??!!

****ALL CA HEAT SPRING FLING TOURNEY PHOTOS ARE UP ON FACEBOOK!!! GO HERE NOW TO VIEW:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=102484406484096&aid=29656

******Full game details for all divisions are always available on our main website: http://www.cavsyouthbasketball.org.  Check back often for updates, as they are posted at varied times by multiple staff members.

CAVS 12U Sweep ARC Palm Springs Tourney!!

OMG. This is good stuff right here. As you all know, the CAVS Divisions – with the exception of 8U, 11U and 13U—headed down to Palm Springs this past weekend for the ARC Palm Springs Tourney - the first official tourney to kick off the CAVS Travel Season. CAVS 10U came close and 9U won their consolation game, but this weekend belonged to 12U.  Believe me....this championship title was important for more reasons than just winning. CAVS 12U would face off with Inland Force. Still doesn't strike a chord?  

Well...for those of you who do know the history, our boys lost to Inland Force as 10’s and as 11’s – each time in Palm Springs---both games by a mere one or two points. This year...through a nail-biting, intense-stand-up-and-stomp game, CAVS 12U defeated Inland Force for the championship, 39-38. 

There actually was a bigger lead, but, um...there were issues.

We’ll get back to that in a minute.

First off….CAVS 12U started things off on Saturday afternoon with a bang, defeating Basic Basketball 35-11.

That evening’s game mirrored the day’s successes, garnering a second win for CAVS 12U over the San Diego Black Mambas:  64-10.

Then would come the moment of truth….would Inland Force defeat CAVS 12U for the third year in a row…or would 12U get with em’? 

This year, 12U got with em’. 

12U started the game off with a forward-leading bang, but many bad calls/mistakes/turnovers later, the game proceeded with a score closer than it should have been.

Neither team is comprised of slouches, so the action was on. Inland Force would make a basket, CAVS 12U would make a basket; tit-for-tat. Everyone in the stands felt there were terrible ref calls throughout…but none of that mattered or could change things. U know how it is.  Yep. Wow. CAVS 12U had seven straight turnovers, while Inland missed those seven they had the chance to get—all while the crowd in the bleachers hooted and hollered. Could it have been the pressure?  YA THINK?

To make matters worse, CAVS power-player DJ McDonald was unfortunately fouled entirely out of the game. Still, CAVS 12U plowed through it all, with the game on the line. Ultimately, things came down to the wire with CAVS12U leading 35-30. 


An Inland free-throw earned from a 12U mistake and an additional three-pointer later, placed Inland Force head-to-head with 12U, for a tie at 37-37, with 2:30 left on the clock. OMG.

CAVS 12U made an excellent play to place them at 39, but Inland Force went to the free-throw line yet again, making one in/missing one, raising the bar to 39-38. 12U missed a basket, placing the ball in the hands of Inland Force. Uh-oh. 

With less than ten seconds left in the game, 12U pressured Inland with that strong CAVS defense, but one slip would allow Inland Force to go up for a 3-pointer…..

…..and the gym was so quiet and intense for that moment, you could hear a single leaf blow outside…..

…..but Inland missed the basket and CAVS 12U held the ball til’ the clock ran out for the win.  Phew!

Yes! Finally! CAVS 12U defeated Inland Force 39-38. Shouts out to all of the CAVS 12U players for their respective hustles, but this time, this game….the golden rings go up for Cameron Townsend. WE SEE YOU, BOYEE!!! Our big guy was playin’ HARD like he came to win and it was beyond recognizable!! GO BIG CAM!!! (He is the one with the ball)

The thing is….it is only a matter of time before the two teams meet to play again. CAVS 12U vs. Inland Force. Ooh wee. 

It will be interesting to see those results….but not without Tylenol first. Mercy.

Congrats CAVS 12U!!! GAME ON, BABY!!! 

***For more in-depth game details and the usual "official" tourney write-up, please visit our main website http://www.cavsyouthbasketball.org.

CAVS HOMECOMING 2011: A SWEET SUCCESS!

What a day!! It was a very LONG day…but a great day, nevertheless. We are talking 7am to after 8pm for some. Was it all worth it? Yep. U bet. CAVS Homecoming this past weekend, was goin’ down!! 

***Check out and download MANY more photos of age divisions 9U-13U on our Facebook site HERE, where you can meet our leaders, some of our parents and our talented players. ***Be sure to check out both albums from Homecoming Weekend…the one marked “CAVS Homecoming – March 12, 2011” and “CAVS Bowling Sunday - March 13, 2011”. 

Enjoy!!