CAVS 12U Finish As 2nd Place Champions In Oakland Soldiers Battle Of The Bay Tourney

The final, championship score for CAVS 12U last Sunday, against the rumored number one team in the country, Houston Elite, was 39-37.  Rumor has it that Houston Elite defeated every other team they played this weekend (and usually play everywhere else) by 30 and at the very least, by 6 or 7 points.  I don’t know about you, but that says something to me about their tussle with the CAVS.  It says….a couple less turnovers and CAVS 12U could have brought home the 10^th consecutive FIRST PLACE championship in a row – defeating the “number one team in the country”.

This, my friends, is a true statement.

However stated, the fact is….CAVS 12U finishing second still brings a championship title (though it didn’t garner a trophy because it was all or nothing with respect to material goods).  It was the championship game, wasn’t it? Okay.  It wasn’t first place, but whatever.  No matter what anyone says or does, THIS, technically, is CAVS 12U’s 10^th consecutive championship TITLE since April 2^nd. Let me go ahead and say it. CAVS 12U finished as second place champions this weekend, in the Oakland Soldiers Battle of The Bay Tourney, June 25^th-26^th, in Oakland, CA. There’s your formal fluff. 

Now, here’s the real deal.

First off, let me say that there were NO easy games this weekend at all. CAVS 12U had to play. However, this weekend was victorious in more ways than one.  Let me explain how.

On Saturday morning, 10:10am, CAVS 12U faced off with the Benicia Blue Devils and gained the victory, 53-22.

That evening, at 6:20pm, CAVS stood in front of the All Star Sports Predators. 

That team name sound familiar? It should. Let me refresh your memory. CAVS 12U first defeated the Predators last year as 11U, in the semi-finals of the Reno AAU Jam On It Tourney that CAVS won in 2010.   None of them were as tall then as they currently are now.  We remembered that they were aggressive and quite scrappy, as well. NOT a super-easy game!  

However, CAVS 12U pulled out the stops and defeated the Predators again this year, 47-38, placing CAVS 12U in the semi-final game the following day. On Sunday, came the moment everyone had been waiting for: 

CAVS 12U vs. The Oakland Soldiers.  

You remember the “hype” that the Soldiers were “ready for us this year” and had basically recruited an all-new tall team (including #23 of Flight Elite) to “get us”, don’t you?   It seemed like EVERYONE in the gym migrated over to witness the grand event like flies to trash when this semi-final game started at 10:10am.

They’d all previously heard the hype, too.

The game, from start to finish, was a toe-to-toe battle, with both coaches yelling at the clock table (though the table girl wasn’t havin’ it) and at the refs. The refs were quite patient with the multiple accusations of their “bad calls”, though, because surprisingly, no technical fouls were called until the second half, and was called on the Oakland Soldiers.  Every moment of the second half was INTENSE.

Though the Oakland Soldiers put up a good fight, CAVS 12U put up a better one and CAVS 12U defeated the “all-new” recruited Oakland Soldiers, 60-48.

This win placed CAVS 12U in the championship game with Houston Elite.  

Okay. Houston Elite is good. They have team members that tower about 6’3 above ground. Some look like linebackers. Most are athletic. Some wear pink socks. 

Texas in the house. Their coaches arrogantly stand on the side of the court and try to determine which team members their boys should do what with. We'll call it being proactive. CAVS 12U began the game with a great steal after Houston won the tip-off, but failed to complete the lay-up.  Before you knew it, the game was up 6 to 0 for Houston.  The CAVS’ sync was slightly off with bad passes, lapses and brain farts.  However, CAVS 12U, being the often underestimated underdogs that they are, quickly smashed back once they shook off the fuzz. This is how the game progressed: push-pull-push-pull. 

Houston would hit a three-pointer. CAVS 12U would drive an “and one” lay-up…and vice versa. OMG….talk about nail-biting! 

Honestly? How Houston Elite gained any jump in the game was through fouls and free-throws. These guys wouldn’t miss a free-throw to save somebody’s life. During the last minute of the game, CAVS 12U popped a three-pointer, making it a one-point game, with Houston up.  It was Houston’s ball, but CAVS 12U wouldn’t let them drive it anywhere.  The battle was on. 

CAVS 12U quickly managed to tip the ball out of Houston’s hand…but the ref called it a foul. By then, it was one-and-one, with only two seconds left on the clock. See how this went? OMG. Houston went to the free-throw line and (of course) made both free throws, bringing the score to 39-37. With two seconds left on the clock, you already KNOW the bitter end.

So, you see…what if it were not one-and-one with the fouls? What if the refs didn’t call the last-minute steal a foul and CAVS 12U was able to continue with that last moment’s play? Heck, what if there were no turnover mistakes on the CAVS’ behalf at all?

Things that make you go “hmmmmm”.

This was not an obvious win for Houston Elite, despite the team appearances.  It was two points of free throws.  Things could have gone either way and ultimately just happened to sway in Houston’s direction. It is okay, though. Overall, CAVS 12U had a GREAT showing this past weekend, defeating the Oakland Soldiers in one of the most anticipated games in a while and yes…..finished as second place champions. Did you hear the last word? It read, “champions”.  Go CAVS 12U!!!

Next stop….Team Powerhouse Summer Sizzle Tourney in Arizona.  Will CAVS 12U bring home the 11^th championship title in a row since April 2^nd? Keep it LOCKED to find out!!!!

***View all Tourney photos HERE.

******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.