Las Vegas FAB 48 Recap
17U NOVA Cavs-Lin Team Picture after winning their 100th game together as a team at FAB 48 in Vegas
Las Vegas, NV – It was a fitting way to end the NOVA Cavs 17U-Lin’s team magical four year ride together at Las Vegas, Nevada.
In their last AAU tournament of the 2015 season, the Cavaliers traveled across country to represent the program in the famous FAB 48 event out in Vegas. The tournament marked the final event of the four-year run for Lin’s group, which had accumulated 99 wins as a team after their strong performances in July. NOVA surpassed the century mark with their opening pool-play game against Utah Flash by the final score of 53-37, led by Langley’s Nate Shafer with a game high 26 points in the victory.
Cavaliers then dropped a hard-fought 52-48 decision to Louisiana Red Storm in the second game of pool play, before securing the second place finish in pool play with a 62-56 win over ICAN All Stars (CA). In the first round of bracket play, the Cavs were matched against Golden City SF from the Bay Area. After a rough start in the first half, NOVA found themselves down 32-13 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.
The resilient Cavs fought their way back in the game behind Seamus Maloney’s 5 three-pointers in the second half. Playing with high emotion and a sense of desperation, Cavaliers cut Golden City’s lead down to 45-42 with 2.5 seconds left in regulation. Maloney then hit a unbelievable catch-and-shoot three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. However, despite their incredible effort, NOVA fell 48-47 in after a few missed opportunities in the OT session.
Coach Lin’s club finished the season 28-10 on the season, with three tournament championships in Zero Gravity Regional Championship, Battle of NOVA Invitational, and Big Shots DC Certified Duel. The team finished the month of July 12-4 and the four-year run with a combined 101-67 record. It was a memorable journey together for this close-knit group.
NOVA Cavaliers 2015 season will come to an end with a program banquet Sept. 15th to conclude the year. More information will be following soon. Don’t miss it!!
Congratulation to all the Cavs teams on a very successful AAU season!
Go Cavs!