Finally… 15’s Champs

Today, we sent two teams to Raquette Lake to a 15 and under basketball tournament.  Baco’s A team came out playing amazing thanks to great performances by Lee R, Lee S, Gianluca V, Jon G, and Ethan C.  Maybe it was the lucky Bazaar shirts Danny Silver gave the team to wear as shooting shirts, Lee R wore the 1997 shirt, Ethan C wore the first ever, and Yotam S wore the ’08 blue and gold.  Baco’s sharp shooting and aggressive defense were the main reasons the A team cruised to a 49-22 victory of Raquette Lake’s A team, but that was only the start.

Meanwhile, Baco’s B team also won 29-5 due to an all around effort.  The B team, sporting assorted Knicks jerseys, beat Raquette B thanks to smart passing.  They immediately began their game with Brant Lake’s B team.

As the Baco B Knicks were getting beat on by Brant B, Baco A duked it out with Brant A.  Led by Ethan C (6 assists) and the Ben S – Gianluca V block party (combined for 12 points, 5 blocks, 2 rebounds) Baco gave BLC a battle, but fell by a dozen.

Next, both Baco teams played both Brant Lake teams in the semi-finals (Brant A vs. Baco B, Brant B vs. Baco A).  Baco A came out electric.  Lee R. (6 points, 7 rebounds) and Lee S (9 points, 8 rebounds) combined for 15 points and 15 rebounds in the first half alone.  Ethan C continued his stellar play with 6 points, 3 rebounds in the opening half.

In the second half, sensational defense and wonderful give-and-go’s helped Baco cruise to another easy victory, 56-40.  On the other court, Baco B got defeated by about 30 points setting up the classic Brant A and Baco A final in Raquette’s dome.

Prior to the game, Jeremy Koretz and Danny Silver summed up the meaning of this game by saying “You’ve been looking forward to this all summer.  You couldn’t ask for any more intensity!”

Baco came out firing and finished the game firing.  Gianlucas early 3 and Ethans late layup were huge moments in the 51-49 victory.

Today s the first time Baco has won 15’s since 1998.

“We earned it.: – Lee R