15U-Lin Battle of NOVA Tournament Champion!
Reston, VA (South Lakes HS) June 1st – 2nd
Congrats to the 15U Nova Cavs (Lin) for winning the championship of the Battle of Nova Invitational, held at McLean and South Lakes HS in Northern Virginia June 1-2.
The Cavs began the weekend with two decisive wins, opening play on Saturday with a 53-19 victory over Basics First and finishing the day with a 51-28 win over The Classics. On Sunday, in a game that neither coach likes to play, Coach Lin’s Cavs knocked off their fellow 15U Cavs (Knoche) team by a score of 40-21. Finally in a battle of attrition on Sunday, the Cavs defeated the Cardinal 51-45 for the Battle of Nova title. In an unusual game, the Cavs began the second halfwith a 17-2 run, but the Cardinals responded with their own 17-1 run. Saddled by foul trouble and injuries, the Cavs gutted out the last five minutes, finishing on a 15-9 run to seal the win.
Patrick Hesse and Vishal Akula provided their usual energy and defense throughout the tourney, while Seamus Maloney and Paulino Matondo providedscoring and stability in the back court. Nate Shafer was his usual force in the paint, controlling the boards, and playing outstanding defense, with help from Nathan Orrick. William Unterkofler provided perimeter scoring and Liam Zeya displayed his versatility, chipping in with both ballhandling and rebounding support.
The Cavs played great team defense and unselfish offense, overcoming the loss of Andrew Dinh and Brendan Doyle, who were sidelined with injuries.
The championship is the second of the spring for the Cavs, who won the BRYC Tar Heels Open Classic earlier in March.