When you are playing at a high level anyone can beat anyone as these youngsters are figuring out how to stay focused and locked in. Some of these kids are traveling from different areas and learning who to shoot in…

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Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log inWhen you are playing at a high level anyone can beat anyone as these youngsters are figuring out how to stay focused and locked in. Some of these kids are traveling from different areas and learning who to shoot in different gyms with different backdrops. It can often get tricky when a team on paper is superior because some of these youngsters are just build different. These next two games showed exactly that. Here is Game 1 of the best games this past weekend.
Rose City Rebels 2027 vs. Arizona Unity 2027
Rose City Rebels have been in like 6 different games that could have gone either was as they have been battle tested all winter long. This came in handy as they played one of the best teams out West in AZ Unity. RCR was undersized at many positions but they used their fundamentals to get rebounds and keep players in front. Gang rebounding was the key. Smaller guards found ways to wrestle loose balls away from big or pick up taps and touches off of misses. A player that really stood out was Aiden Sanchez, he was getting heckled by a fan and he stayed composed and found ways to make big plays and keep his composure and the teams tempo. He grabbed a few big time rebounds and a few key passes down the stretch as he became one of the lead ball handlers late in the game. Kaiden Wilson played out of his mind on the boards and near the paint as he got buckets to fall against some big boys. Elijah Thompson was super tough as he was just a scrappy lefty kid that would get in to the mid-range and cause problems because he would get good shots off or he was creating for others. Emmanuel Chabuka held his own in this one as.
On the other side AZ Unity black is just nice and they play with a lot of speed. At times they took a few shots maybe to quick in the shot clock as they did not get enough touches to go around. Delton Prescott III was probably the best PG in the building and that is saying something. He was unstoppable going to his right when they would get into their 2-1-2 offense and his hang time and finishing skills are super elite. He was easily straight line driving to the rim. With Mayom Mayom in foul trouble Paul Osaruyi a 6’10 kid came off the bench and was an impact. He was blocking shots and dunking the ball on drop steps. Mayom hit a few big shots from the perimeter but with a lot of size on the floor he was pushed to the corner. immediately. Adrian Higuera was solid on both ends of the floor and Darrius Wabbington was a force in the mid-range nd on the blocks. Would love to see more off ball screens that can get him open as he is running towards the ball.
At the end of the day Rose City was clutch and somehow got the stops and rebounds they needed to pull out the win as AZ Unity could not hit a last second 3-pointer to win the game. Much respect to RCR as they had a game plan and it worked. Too much size was spread out on the floor and AZ Unity did not adjust but they still had a shot at it.
Key Players:
Rose City Rebels
Emmanuel Chabuka
Aiden Sanchez
Elijah Thompson
Kiaden Wilson
Isaac Bogden
AZ Unity
Delton Prescott III
Darrius Wabbington
Aiden Higuera
Mayom Mayom
Paul Osaruyi