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| FCI Warriors at the AAU Nationals held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. |
The Warriors opened up pool play with upset victory over the Memphis Bulls, which were the pool's top seeded team. The Warriors played excellent full court defense and used their team speed to advantage in an exciting 77-67 victory. The second game of pool play that afternoon was not the best showing for the Warriors, as the team was not able to rebound from the tremendous effort in the first game played just a few hours earlier, and eventually fell to a very talented Charlotte Nets team.
This set the stage for a pivotal final pool play game on Thursday evening with the South Florida Celtics. The winner would advance to the Championship Playoff Bracket. The Warriors rose to the challenge and played one of their best overall games of the season in a 67-64 victory.
With the Warriors advancing to Championship bracket, the playoff pairing brought forth a very tough first round match-up with the Richmond Squires. The Squires boosted a very talented squad, with several highly regarded prospects and had won the AAU Super Showcase played the previous weekend. The game was played in front of a throng of Division I schools, with coaches from Duke, UNC, Michigan, and Lousiville all in attendance.
Unfortunately, the Warriors suffered through a terrible shooting stretch and struggled offensively. The team was able to make a couple of runs however, the Squires came right back; shooting over 60% from beyond the arc on the game and winning by comfortable margin. Still, you couldn't fault the effort as the Warriors played with super intensity to the final buzzer.
Despite the playoff loss in the last game, the trip was a definite success and an outstanding experience on and off the court for all of the team members. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to come together as a team this past year and look forward to seeing all of the wonderful things God has in store for each of them this coming year!
