This Juice Worth the Squeeze

Down by 10 points midway through the first half of their semifinal matchup against the New York Gauchos, the Juice All-Stars looked like a team on life support. A 12-0 run to start the 2nd half jump started Juice to a 70-62 victory to propel them to the final. The team never looked back, as they overwhelmed New Heights 17s 71-63 in the GBOA East title game.

Tournament MVP Joel Wright, and guards Chaz Williams and Darwin “Buddha” Ellis, sparked Juice in the first half. Trailing 5-0 early, Juice used their transition game to post a 28-3 run over the course of the next 8 minutes. Juice kept New Heights at bay for the rest of the first half and took a 38-19 lead into the locker room.

New Heights forwards Jonathan Williams (18 second half points) and Riley Maye (13 second half points) led a late charge, cutting the lead to 7 with just over a minute to play. However, coach Rudy King’s disciplined squad could not match Juice’s up-tempo style of play and athleticism.

Juice coach Tiny Morton liked his chances from the start of the tournament. “I knew we would have a good shot at the title, with the makeup of our team and the fact that it’s in our backyard [of Brooklyn].” Morton added, “I’m already looking forward to taking on the rest of the country in Chicago.” Both Juice and New Heights receive automatic bids to the GBOA Challenge of Champions based on their first place and runner-up finishes (Chicago, August 16-17). Two more teams from GBOA East will be selected as wild card teams on July 1.

Juice went undefeated in pool play defeating Connecticut B-Ball, United Brooklyn and Real Scout on Saturday. Juice overcame a double-digit second half deficit and needed a buzzer beater from Chaz Williams to down Connecticut B-Ball, while easily handling Real Scout and United Brooklyn. In the quarters, Juice defeated the Westchester Hawks (forfeit), before advancing to beat the Gauchos in the semis and New Heights 17s in the finals. Wright, the GBOA East MVP, averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds for the tournament.

See full Box Score

See GBOA East bracket