The Crescenta Valley Falcon Youth Basketball 4U Division championship game was played on Saturday. The game showcased the undefeated Bulls (9-0) vs. Spurs (7-2), and lived up to its pregame hype.

The season began for both teams in late October, and from the onset the two teams were on a collision course. Three weeks prior to the championship game they met in their final regular season game, with the Bulls edging out the Spurs 27-26 to remain perfect in the regular season. With the loss, the Spurs dropped to 5-2, as both teams entered the playoffs as championship contenders. Both the Bulls and Spurs went 2-0 throughout the playoffs, destined to play each other in the championship game.

The game started off lopsided with the Bulls taking a quick 6-1 lead as a result of a strong performance from one of the league’s premier players, Ryan Raad. But, as the game went on, the Spurs slowly and steadily took control of the field under the leadership of the Spurs co-MVPs, Artin Shenian and Jake Weingarten. The Spurs defense went into lock-down mode led by Bowen Kim and Brett Kim. The Spurs had strong rebounding performance from their “bigs” underneath – Chris Saran, Andrew Miller and Gisung Lee. Seth Perez’s fast break points and defensive steals, along with the strong bench performance of Dylan Lee, helped the Spurs finally turn the corner late in the fourth period to take a commanding 12 point lead. The final score was 33-23, Spurs.

Immediately following the game, league manager Larry Sparks thanked the 100-plus parents, family members and fans in attendance for their support of the CV Falcon Youth Basketball League, and led the teams in a trophy presentation ceremony.

Submitted by Steve SHENIAN

  Steve SHENIAN