6th grade boys shutdown NDV, win the championship

The 6th grade won the championship Wednesday night.

***UPDATE - HIGHLIGHTS BELOW

The cliche "defense wins championships" was proven Wednesday night at Epiphany as the 6th grade boys pulled off an improbable win, taking the title 15-9 over NDV.

Their previous two meetings were completely one-sided with the 6th grade boys losing by a combined score of 44-16. The last regular season meeting was an NDV drubbing, 20-3.

But despite that, their coaches Henry Deng and Larry Wong were confident that they had what it took to stop the undefeated number one team in the division.

Placing emphasis on defense, they were able to completely slow down the NDV offense, most notably their best player #3. From watching film and drilling it into the boys at practice over the last few days, the 6th graders came out prepared and ready to go.

Amarit had a team high 6 points to lead the way offensively and Bill controlled the paint again with several blocked shots, 4 points and some crucial rebounds down the stretch.

After trailing 2-0 to start the game, the boys tied it with a nice move by Bill to the basket. And then an Amarit shot by the basket put the 6th grade on top, and they held onto that lead until the end of the game.

It was a nice total team effort, and even though they didn't score much, defensively everybody stayed in their position and forced NDV to take bad shots or turn the ball over. Offensively, they also took care of the ball and limited their errant passes and giveaways.

Eric, who split free throws in the 2nd half, has become a really dependable point guard and a pest for other teams when he plays defense at the top of the key.

Dustin subbed back in during the 2nd quarter and instantly hit a shot, even though it looked awkward.

Kyle, who was held scoreless, was extremely vocal on the defensive end calling out signals to the rest of the team.

And Ethan hit two clutch free free throws on a 1-in-1 giving the 6th grade a much needed cushion and clinched the championship.

So a team that wasn't even .500 (3-5) during the regular season, found its way to a championship. They worked hard, executed and caught a few breaks along the way, but there is a small part of luck that comes with winning any title.

Twice, NDV had golden opportunities to turn the momentum in their favor. Both times, they were unable to execute. It was 8-3 in the final seconds of the 1st half, but an NDV player missed a wide open lay-up underneath the basket.

With 1:30 to go in the game, NDV just hit a basket to trim the lead to four. Eric then slipped and lost the ball in the backcourt, and yet again, NDV was unable to make a wide open lay-up.

The difference between the winning and losing may have come down to a handful of players and it was the 6th that grade that scored when it needed to, and made stops when it came down to crunch time.

Following their win over NDV, the 6th grade beat every team in their five team division on their way to the championship. They avenged their losses against both St. Anne's and NDV.

And as all of the players piled out of Epiphany wearing their first place t-shirts, they all echoed the same sentiment, that they in no way shape or form could've expected anything like this when the season began.

Larry wins 8th title: Larry Wong, who returned to the bench to coach the 6th grade along with Henry Deng, won his eight title as a basketball coach. It is Henry's first as a coach after winning two as a player back in the 2000s.

Game Notes: Annie, Sharon and Emily represented the girls of the 6th grade class and were in attendance. Also among the celebrities were Mr. Ryan, Mr. Lee, Leslie, Raymond, Garrick, Derek and Jamie...This marks the third time a St. Mary's team has had a big post-season upset win at Epiphany. Marissa's team did it when they were in 6th grade (2009) and the infamous Red Team did the same in 2010.

BREAKING NEWS: 6th grade championship game rescheduled for Wednesday

The 6th grade championship has been rescheduled for this Wednesday night at 7:15 p.m. It will be played at Epiphany.

BREAKING NEWS: 6th grade championship game for tonight canceled

The 6th grade championship game for tonight has been canceled. It will be rescheduled for a later date to be determined.

CYO Serramonte has been shut down for the night.

Girls pick up rec league win

The 7th/8th grade girls won their second rec league game, 18-14.

They are now (2-1) in league play.

5th grade ousted from the playoffs

The 5th grade boys made a late surge but came up short in their playoff game Saturday, falling 13-10.

They were able to score five points in the final six minutes, but went scoreless in the 3rd quarter.

This was definitely a winnable game as the other team didn't amount much offense, hitting only two shots in the second half, a basket in each quarter. But the 5th grade just could not hit their shots.

Brendan left the game late in the third with a lower body injury and did not return, as he watched the most important quarter of the season from the sidelines.

Calvin hit a bucket late for two of his 5 points to cut the deficit to three, but the boys never got closer.

Free throws were a killer as well, as they went 2-8 from the line. Calvin even had two technical foul shots late in the game but was unable to convert. He hit the first one but crossed the line, and the ref waved off the bucket.

Physically, the 5th grade just can't match up with most teams. They don't have any true post players and their tallest player Nathan doesn't play like a true center.

In order for them to beat teams that have a height advantage, they need to get running on the fast break for easy buckets. They did none of that in the first three quarters and struggled to score in the half court. The boys were relegated to outside shots, which did not foul.

Offensive rebounds were pretty non-existent and they were one and done on most of their trips down the court.

Darren scored 3 points while Brendan added two before leaving the game.

7th grade comes up short in playoffs

The 7th grade season came to an abrupt end Friday night.

The 7th grade boys left everything they had out on the court, but fell short of making it back to the championship for the third straight year, as they lost 56-50 in the playoffs.

Holding a 50-49 lead with under 50 seconds to go, the other team banked in a wide open three pointer which put the 7th grade behind 52-50.

Then right off the inbounds, they threw the ball away right to the other team, who was then fouled and sent to the line.

After splitting the free throws, the 7th grade trailed by three, as Jason Lei worked his way to the free throw line. He missed both shots and it forced St. Mary's to foul.

Again, the other team made one out of two making it 54-50. Jonathan threw up a desperation three which hit off back iron and the other team sealed it with a lay-up in the final seconds.

After a few minutes into the second half, it didn't look like this game was going to be close, as the 7th grade was trailing 33-24 midway through the 3rd quarter.

But then Jonathan caught fire. And like his sister Marissa did back in 2011, he hit three straight 3 pointers to tie the game. The 7th grade fed off that momentum and closed out the third on a 19-4 run, which put them up 43-37 heading into the final quarter.

However they had to play the fourth without Michael, who questionably fouled out of the game in the final seconds of the third. The St. Mary's book had only four fouls for Michael, but the other team, which served as the home book, had five. Right or wrong, the 7th graders were without their point guard for the biggest seven minutes of the season.

For the first few minutes of the quarter, it looked promising. Justin had two incredible plays and hit two huge shots, and Jonathan hit a mid-range jumper with about 5 1/2 left to go making it 47-39. He finished with 24 points.

Then they stopped scoring, and the other team did.

Defensively, it was probably their poorest performance of the season. Their man to man defense didn't work at all as each player was decisively beaten off the dribble and to spots on the court.

Out of the 56 points they gave up, only 5 of those points came from outside the key. And it was some bad luck because the big shot of the game was banked in from near the three point land. The player who made the shot completely missed the rim in a similar attempt in quarter two.

But the story was the lack of defense. Off of made shots, the other team somehow took the ball and did a full court lay-up going untouched. It was mind boggling how many easy shots the other team had.

The 7th grade full court pressed the entire game in an effort to create turnovers, but running from line to line over and over at a furious pace took its toll.

In division three, the top teams also have a lot of size and strength down low. And besides Jason Lei, nobody on the team is a true forward who can consistently grab rebounds.

In the first half alone, the boys were absolutely dominated on the boards as the other team got so many second chance shots. Besides a handful of Jason Lei offensive rebounds, the 7th grade didn't get more than one shot per possession.

Free throws down the stretch will also be something they'll kick themselves for in the off-season. In the last two minutes of the game, they shot 1-for-7 from the stripe, with one miss coming on the front end of a one-in-one that would've at the time given the 7th grade a lead. They were 9-24 for the game on free throws.

Towards the end of the game, they just looked tired and didn't have much left in the gas tank. They laid it all out there, but once again came up a few buckets short.

It's another tough pill to swallow for a team that has come so close three straight years to winning it all. Unfortunately, they've come up short each time and it may only get tougher as they're slated to once again move up another division.

Good game, good effort. And here's hoping that the tough last few seasons are setting up for a storybook ending in their 8th grade year.

Game Notes: In his first year with the team, Spencer made some big steps and scored 4 big points in the game...Jason Lei scored 17 points...Michael was hampered with foul trouble and picked up three fouls in the 1st quarter and never got into a rhythm offensively...Among the celebrities at the game were Brandon Khuu, Edwena and Kaela.

6th grade pulls off upset, going to the championship

***UPDATE: Highlights below***

The 6th grade boys pulled off an upset Thursday night, beating St. Anne 21-19 in a playoff thriller.

In their previous two meetings, the 6th graders were in the losing end both times, with their last meeting a 28-17 loss.

It was a great start for the boys as Dustin got the ball rolling with a putback layup a minute into the game. Scoring early gave the team confidence and the offense started to click.

Even though they trailed 5-4 heading into the 2nd quarter, the 6th grade played a controlled game and took care of the ball for the most part. They were definitely the aggressor, finding themselves in the bonus in both the first and second half.

Their prettiest play of the evening came when all five players on offense touched the ball. It was great ball movement that ended with a Bill lay-up by the basket. The big man had a game high 9 points.

They outscored St. Anne 7-0 in the 2nd quarter and took an 11-5 lead into halftime.

With the full court press in effect, the 6th grade showed discipline and did not let the pressure rattle them. Even when pressed, they were able to score points. Amarit had a nice drive to the basket using his right hand to score two of his 3 points.

Eric, who scored 7 points, played the best game of his young career and did the majority of ball handling duties for the 6th grade. He was able to use the crossover and was aggressive in taking the ball to the rim.

Midway through the season, Eric was handed the point guard duties and has done a real good job. He was strong with the ball and kept the offense under control down the stretch.

One thing they'll need to avoid in the championship is foul trouble. Bill committed his fourth foul late in the 3rd quarter and it was dicey throughout the final six minutes. They cannot afford to have "The Mailman" on the bench.

Free throws will also need to be better as there were plenty of more misses than makes. However, Eric managed to hit a few down the stretch, which proved to be the difference maker.

With 3.7 seconds left on the clock, the other team had a chance to tie the game or even win it. Of a full court baseball pass, the ball was kicked around before a St. Anne's player took a shot over Bill just inside the three point line.

The ball never hit the rim and the 6th grade jumped up to celebrate their first playoff win and a berth in the championship game Monday night.

Coaches Henry and The Great Larry Wong, who came out of retirement to coach. Both have done a strong job on a team that is made up of three rookies and three second year players.