5th grade championship preview

In less than 24 hours, the 5th grade boys basketball team will be going for the championship in Saturday's title game at Mission Dolores.

The team of seven, with three new players, will try to put their names in the St. Mary's record books with a win tomorrow afternoon.

That will definitely not be easy as they go up against OLV in a rematch of the only game the 5th graders lost this season.

Much of the attention will be focused on #24 on the other team, who is one of the quickest 5th graders in San Francisco. Not only can he score, but he also makes his teammates better, evident by the way he sees the court and pass the ball. Containing him is going to be a top priority.

As for the 5th graders, they are going to have to play like they have in all their wins this year, and it starts with defense.

Defensively they have been able to shut teams down in long spurts and that's exactly what they are going to have to do to secure a win.

Rebounding, which was a problem in some of their games, has improved dramatically in the last few. This is not the biggest team but they are good at getting the inside position, which is crucial to grabbing boards.

Offensively, they can score on the fast break or in the half court which makes them all the more dangerous.

Jonathan is as good as it gets when it comes to an open shot and they will need to find ways to get him the clean looks.

On the fast break, Michael has been solid all year, demonstrating exceptional speed and having the ability to break away from the pack If he gets those opportunities in the game tomorrow, he will need to capitalize.

Most importantly, the team needs to just play with confidence and up to their capability. If they can play their game, and limit their own mistakes, this game is theirs for the taking.

It's going to be an exciting afternoon tomorrow so wear red and don't miss out on all the action.

Hope to see you all there!