AAU Championship Brackets are set
July 29th, 2007 Posted in AAU BasketballPool play concluded Saturday evening, and the Amateur Athletic Union has released the bracket for the 17U Boys Basketball National Championship Tournament (full coverage including photos and video highlights). Twenty-two teams, including five Florida squads, survived their three-game pool play unblemished. Seventy-six different teams earned berths in the bracketed tournament, which kicks off with today’s 10:30 a.m. first-round games. With 44 games slated for today, only 32 teams will survive the day and move into Monday’s 16 third-round games.
Team Breakdown 17U, Team STAT, the Marquis Daniels Showtime Ballers, the Gold Cost Ambassadors and the Jacksonville Lee Bulls all swept their three pool-play games. Of the five, the Showtime Ballers appear to be the cream of the Florida crop. Composed completely of some of the state’s top 16U players, the Ballas pummeled the top-seeded Kappa Magic 89-60 Saturday evening after beginning their weekend with a 76-66 Saturday morning win against Louisiana’s Red Storm.
Jacksonville began their tournament run with a 48-46 victory Friday evening against the Georgia Blazers. After that close shave, however, the team bounced back to defeat the top-seeded Boo Williams 16U squad and then trounced the Old Gold 86-52 on Saturday.
Team STAT blasted New Mexico’s Carlsbad Cavemen 81-35 Saturday evening, but the STAT won their other two pool-play games by a combined five points. Team Breakdown also had some close calls, including a 73-73 win against Virginia’s Squires Richmond on Friday night. The Gold Coast Ambassadors, meanwhile, won their final two pool-play games by a combined seven points and didn’t secure their berth in the tournament until they held off Ohio’s Queen City Prophets Saturday evening in an 84-79 victory.
The 16U Team Breakdown squad also earned a spot in the championship tournament after taking second place in their pool with a 2-1 mark. Despite finishing pool play with a 1-2 record, the Gold Coast 16U team also survived a tie-breaker to slide into the tail end of the bracket championship. Fast Track 2008, which lost to a New Hampshire team Saturday evening, also reached the tournament. Fast Track was 2-1 in pool play. Florida Elite Black, OBC Elite, the Tampa Fastbreak and NIKE Team Florida also earned their way into the tournament with 2-1 records in pool play.
Florida teams that failed to make the championship bracket were Team Northwest Florida’s Sharks, the Barton Ballas, the Broward Buccaneers, the South Florida Dawgs, the Kissimmee Wildcats, the Largo Magic, Orange County PAL and Team Florida.
