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Toronto CCYAA Captures 1st Youth 15 NACBA Championship Written By: Mike Mon ![]() ![]() In the Finals, the undefeated Toronto CCYAA Youth awaited the winner. Toronto’s young coach Solomon Tenn, a former All-NACBAIT selection himself, had changed the team’s look this year, after a couple years of unsatisfying finishes. They recruited some new blood, as Toronto became bigger and got stronger. New add Chris Wong (10.8 ppg) became their go to guy, while 3-year “veterans” Ivan Chan and Eric Chong developed into their spirited leaders. This team breezed through pool play with a 3-0 record, winning most of their games by double digit margins. When the final game boiled down to USAB and CCYAA, one could not help but think back to the rivalry that these two organizations have had over the past few years in the younger age groups. Collectively, they have captured the past 9 Youth and Junior Championships at our annual event. This sustained dominance, bragging rights, and organizational pride really drew a big crowd from both contingents at the Championship game, as fans and players were packed like sardines to witness this great matchup. The players did appear somewhat tense at the outset, with neither team able to find their rhythm. Toronto had their opportunities, as they continually took it to the rack and kept drawing contact, but couldn’t convert from the charity stripe. USAB stepped up their play a little bit, with center Brian Lichtenstein sinking an early three to draw a huge cheer from the NY crowd. At the break, the score was a meager 14-12 in favor of the USAB 15’s. In the second half, USAB recognized that this game was theirs for the taking. Coach Chan knew that they would just need to maintain their current defensive aggressiveness and find a way to hit a few more shots. The pace of the game was easily in favor the New York. The USAB boys did what was expected, as defense spurred NY to an 8 point lead that at times looked insurmountable for CCYAA. While USAB kept playing an unselfish team game on offense, the Toronto trio of Chris Wong, Ivan Chan, and Eric Chong decided that they were going to take command of their team. The pace of the game increased exponentially, as both teams got to putting points on the board and the momentum began to shift. The Toronto three scored every single Canadian point the rest of the way, as they continually created contact to get to the line. In a miraculous finish, MVP Eric Chong (12 pts, 3 triples, 3-4 FT) hit two three pointers in the last minute to tie the game up. The game appeared to be headed into overtime, as the score was all tied up at 39-all with only seconds to play. Toronto went with the hot hand, and fed Eric for one last shot. USAB came up to the shooter and scored what appeared to be a clean block as the buzzer sounded to preserve the tied score. But then, to the disbelief of almost everybody in the facility, the referee on the baseline whistled a foul call and Eric Chong would step up to the line with the biggest shot of his young lifetime. Eric went to the free throw line, facing a dropjawed crowd. The shot went up and in, as the Toronto bench went wild and the USAB fans sat there stunned at the way it all ended. Toronto CCYAA captured their first ever Youth 15’s NACBA Championship, and could not be any happier with the 40-39 escape. Many congratulations to both teams on one of the greatest Finals games ever played in any division of this Tournament. Great job Mr. Solomon and the CCYAA Youth on your undefeated performance. << previous boys juniors 18 & under division recap >> |
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