Source Hoops held its Florida Showdown this past weekend at The Villages Charter School. A gorgeous facility with four full-sized courts, many teams from third grade on up to tenth grade participated in the event. Sunday was Championship Day and teams from all levels went hard after their respective titles.
9th Grade Championship
The 9th Grade Championship featured A1 Elite out of the Tampa area taking on Exclusive Hoops out of Orlando. The two teams met on Saturday afternoon with A1 winning by just five, 86-81, in what was arguably the best game of the day regardless of age group.
As expected, the game was tight and competitive early on. Midway through the first half, Exclusive Hoops created some separation and led 40-32 at the break. In the second half, A1 Elite came within a couple of buckets of catching or surpassing Exclusive on a variety of occasions. A1 was down 66-60 with just over a minute to go but couldn’t finalize a comeback win. Exclusive gets revenge and a championship by the score of 70-62.
Mahmud Habib led Exclusive with 17 points. Jostin Hernandez was just behind him with 16 points. Noah Whisler added 13 points.
For A1, Marcus Lalonde led all scorers with 25 points.
While no official MVP or MOP awards were handed out, to this observer the 6’1 Hernandez from Exclusive Hoops would have been the worthiest of that honor. A freshman at Exclusive Prep in Orlando, he plays with great poise, basketball IQ, and tenacity. The ball either finds him or Hernandez finds the ball as he was consistently coming up with loose ball, long rebounds, deflections, and steals. He demonstrated great finishing capability around the basket after drives with euro-steps, ball fakes, and an assortment of crafty finishes in a crowd. Hernandez’s perimeter shot is solid, he is a very good ball-handler and passer and makes the game easier for his teammates but difficult for his opponents.
According to the Exclusive Hoops coaches, Habib just arrived from the Dominican Republic in time to play in this event. There were times the 6’2 freshman out of Exclusive Prep in Orlando looked out of his element. Then there were just as many times (if not more) that Habib looked like not only the best player on the floor but a near-certain D-I recruit down the road. Blessed with abundant athleticism and a solid body, he excels at using a quick first step to get to the hoop and score. Habib has nice form on his jumper and made a few but it is still a work in progress. The tools are there, both physically and skill-wise, to be a top-shelf defender as well as scorer. It is just a matter of time, repetition, and game experience for Habib to put it all together.
Lalonde of A1 Elite caught our attention on Saturday with his play. In the title game on Sunday, he started a bit slow but scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half as he did all he could to try to get A1 out of its hole. A 6’0 freshman out of Excel Christian in Lakeland, Lalonde proved to be a versatile scorer as he had success knocking down shots from behind the arc as well as taking the ball strong to the basket and either converting in a crowd, taking a trip to the foul line, or both. He is reliable with the ball in his hands and generally makes good pass vs. shot decisions on the move. Lalonde works hard on the defensive end to keep his opponent away from the ball and the basket.
8th Grade Championship
The title game for the 8th Grade division came down to a pair of teams out of Orlando, OBG Elite and Exclusive Hoops. We had seen both teams play the day before and thought the game would be a toss-up.
From the start, Exclusive Hoops let it be known they were the team to beat. They built a lead quickly and never let up. Exclusive led by as many as twenty points before finally taking home the title with a 71-55 victory.
Exclusive Hoops two-headed monster on the inside, 6’3 Boubacar Ngem and 6’4 Max Lazala, controlled the glass at both ends of the court. Ngem finished with a game-high 24 points while Lazala added 15.
For OBG Elite, Hector Nieves led the squad with 16 points.
Ngem may be a bit raw in terms of basketball skills at this stage, but he more than makes up for it with athleticism and effort. He is long, a quick leaper, and runs the floor with both speed and long strides. On many occasions, Ngem grabbed a rebound, burst out of the pack, and finished ahead of everyone with a coast-to-coast foray. Defensively he anticipates well, covers a lot of ground quickly, and comes up with several tips, deflections, and steals over the course of the game. If Ngem comes up with the ball and a free lane to the hoop, a thunderous dunk is a given. With physical gifts that can’t be taught, he may be more project than prospect at this point, but we like the direction he is headed in.
Lazala has the skills that Ngem currently lacks and while not as explosive athletically as his teammate, Lazala is certainly good enough. He can score around the basket as well as step out and drive the ball past defenders. Lazala is a good passer and ball-handler for his size and age and is a good rebounder in traffic. He may have had the play of the weekend at any level in the title game when he grabbed a defensive rebound, burst out of the pack, weaved thru defenders then finished at the other end with euro-step and bucket with his off-hand.
7th Grade Championship
We don’t normally venture down to this age group (or lower) but we were glad we did this time around. This contest featured Tre Mann Elite 813 out of Tampa against Austin Rivers SE Elite from Central Florida.
From the outset, the game was very competitive. Neither team could gain much more than a two-possession lead throughout the first half. When the halftime horn sounded, SE Elite was up by a single point, 22-21.
The contest remained close until midway through the second half. At that point, SE Elite got on a run to create some separation. Tre Mann got the deficit down to a single possession on more than one occasion, but SE Elite was able to hold them off for a 47-40 victory.
Southeast Elite was paced by Xavier Gullate with 15 points while Caleb Phillips added 10 points.
For Tre Mann, Benjamin Wal led the way with 8 points.
The 6’1 Gullate out of Jacksonville showed a lot of promise. He seems to have a decent skill set as well as feel for the game for a young player. Gullate connected on a three, ran the floor for scores in transition, and proved to be a reliable ball-handler.
The 6’1 Phillips out of Vero Beach displayed a great deal of athleticism and made things happen with a high level of effort. He was very active on the offensive glass, showed an ability to make shots from fifteen feet and in and was quick to get the ball out to teammates after securing defensive rebounds.
Wal, at close to 6’2, seems all arms and legs at this point but he has good athletic ability and doesn’t lack for skill. He drives the ball and scores at the basket, gets up quickly for rebounds at both ends and is able to defend a variety of positions thanks to his size and length.