June 6 – 7th Weekend Tournament Recap
NOVA Cavs 17U-Lin Championship Photo at South Lakes HS after winning the Championship at Battle of NOVA in Reston, VA this weekend
Fairfax County, VA – This weekend marked the 9th annual Battle of NOVA Invitational with all 10 teams in the NOVA Cavaliers organization participated in 8 different age groups. The event turns out to be one of the best local events over the weekend in the DMV area, where 84 teams participated to claim bragging rights to Northern Virginia.
In the 10U/4th grade division, Coach Ferrick’s team finished 2-1 in the tournament with solid wins over Gainesville Hurricanes and Catoctin Vikings. In the 11U age group, Coach Sullender’s team made a strong run to the Championship game with victories over D1SA, Chantilly Elite – Fink, and ATB Excalibur. Cavs then dropped a tough and competitive contest against CYA – Oney, who was crowned as the eventual Champion in the 5th grade division. It was a very impressive weekend overall for both the young NOVA Cavs squads.
13U/7th grade NOVA Cavs also had a great weekend; Coach Weeren’s team rampaged through the pool play with 48-25 win over Great Falls Spartans and 72-51 victory over Arlington Travel Basketball. Cavaliers then defeated Winchester Rising Stars in the semifinal. In an epic tournament final, NOVA dropped a tough 1 point decision to DMV Xplosion, who have already qualified for the AAU National Championship tournament.
Coach Frate’s finished Battle of NOVA with a solid 3-1 record. The Cavs 8th grade team won convincingly over Herndon Hornets, Chantilly Elite, and Annandale Bulldogs in the pool play, but then lost a heart-breaker to LBA Attack Blue in the semifinal. The 15U/9th grade Cavs also won three straight games in pool play before succumbing to a BRYC Tarheels during bracket play. Both teams combined for a solid 6-2 record on the weekend.
In the 16U/10th grade division, both NOVA Cavalier teams faced off in an unusual semifinal affair. Coach Sawitzky’s Cavs finished 1st seed in pool play with wins over Chantilly Chargers and LBA Attack, while Coach Corish’s team finished 2nd place with an 1-1 record (58-22 win over BTH Bulldogs and 49-47 loss to Annandale Bulldogs). Cavaliers-Corish ended up winning 40-28 to advance into the 16U championship game, where they beat Loudoun Xtreme Force to take home the title; this marked the third tournament championship on the year for NOVA on the season. Congratulation NOVA Cavs – Corish!!
17U-Lin team successfully defended their title at Battle of NOVA with a three-peat performance (2013, 2014 and 2015). NOVA steamed through the pool play with opening wins against FYBA Select 52-31 (Seamus Maloney led the way with 13 pts) and TJ Colonials (Tavon Tarpley finished with 15 pts). In the semifinal, Cavs faced off Coach Knoche’s team (1-1 in pool play; with a win over GCM Statesmen and loss to NOVA 94feet) and prevailed to advance into the championship game behind Danny Krug’s 16 points performance.
In the 17U Championship game, Cavaliers faced against NOVA 94feet and their talented star – James Butler. The Cavs defended their home court and used a tenacious defensive effort to put away 94feet by the final of 56-32. Avi Silberman (Robinson HS, class of 2016) and Jamel Howard (Tuscarora, class of 2016) led the way to help Cavaliers clinched their second tournament championship on the year. Congrats goes out to the 17U-Lin team!
Also, the 17U-O’Donnell Cavs team finished 2-2 on the weekend and won their last two games on Sunday. Strong performances by Chase Barrand and Blake Mintz capped off a good ending for NOVA.
Next weekend, most of the NOVA Cavaliers will either be in the prestigious Maryland Invitational Tournament (MIT) or Battle at the Brock at Randolph Macon College. Look for the schedule to be publish later on this week.
Go Cavs!