Anaheim, CA – The 2nd Annual #OPGFinals hosted 300+ teams from across the West Coast as well as domestic teams from the state of Texas (TJ Ford) and international teams from as far away as Australia (AUBD). The biggest Socal Event of the summer included 33 Middle School Boys Divisions, 8 Boys HS Divisions and 4 Girls Divisions.
8U Gold Division
- Number of Teams: 4
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #1 RMG, #4 Team Eleate, #5 Team Nikos Black, #9 Sacramento Yellow Jackets
- Champion: # 1 RMG
RMG came into the event as the #1 Ranked Team, but suffered an early Pool Game defeat to the talented #4 Team Eleate. RMG avenged the loss by defeating Team Eleate in the championship game 33-24 to solidify their #1 ranking. Team Eleate’s impressive showing will earn them the #2 ranking. #5 Team Nikos Black also played well enough to bump up to #3.
9U Gold Division
- Number of Teams: 5
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #20 OGP HQ Black & #21 Cavs
- Champion: #20 OGP HQ Black
With the #1 Ranked Mentally Fit Neon playing up in the 10U Gold Division, the 9u Gold Team division would come down to a battle between #20 OGP HQ Black and #21 Cavs. The Cavs won Pool Play with a 50-47 victory over OGP HQ Black on Sunday. On Monday, both teams would meet again for the Championship, but this time around, #20 OGP HQ Black came away with the victory over the Cavs 43-39.
10U Gold Division
- Number of Teams: 12
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #2 California Stars, #3 OGP HQ Grey, #7 Sacramento Yellow Jackets, #17 Team Dojo, #19 Team DTermined, #24 Educated Ballers, #9 Socal Region SGV4 Blue, & #1 9u Team – Mentally Fit 9u
- Champion: # 3 OGP HQ Grey
With 6 G365 Ranked Teams plus the #1 9u Team and a ranked Socal Regional Team, the field was loaded. #1 9u Mentally Fit finished with a strong 2-2 record and defeated Socal Region #4 SGV4 Blue. Team Dojo (3-1) and Educated Ballers (2-2) both had strong outings that solidified their ranking. The Sacramento Yellow Jackets (3-1) fared well by going 2-0 in Pool Play, but lost in the Elite 8 to the Educated Ballers 44-48. The Championship game between #2 California Stars and #3 OGP HQ Grey went down to the wire, with OGP HQ Grey pulling ahead to win 41-37.
11U Gold Division
- Number of Teams: 12
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #3 Team Dojo, #9 Inland Force, #12 SD Southbay Show, #13 Bout That Basketball, , #14 Team DTermined , #18 AZ Storm Black, #22 Fresno Swoosh Elite, #23 OGP HQ Grey
- Champion: #18 AZ Storm Black
#18 AZ Storm Black (5-0) topped 5 ranked teams ahead of them for the championship. Their run at the #OGPFinals will vault them into the Top 7. Runner-Up #14 Team DTermined (3-2) had an impressive showing and will also jump a few spots in the rankings. The other final 4 Teams, #9 Inland Force (3-1) lost to eventual champs AZ Storm in the Final 4 and Unranked OPG HQ Black (3-1) played well enough to jump into the Top 25.
12U Open Division
- Number of Teams: 9
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #6 ARC 2023, #9 Academy of Future Ballers, #13 Team DTermined, #15 Oakland Rebels Black, #10 Norcal Region Flight Elite Black, TJ Ford (Texas National Team)
- Champion: #6 ARC 2023
#6 ARC 2023 (5-0) ran through the field and looked much improved. Their showing will earn them a #4 G365 Ranking and the #1 Socal Regional Ranking. Runner-Up Sacramento Hoyas (3-1) unranked both on G365 and on Norcal Regional Rankings took exception to the disrespect and proved they are worthy of a Top 10 G365 ranking. Much respect to the Sacramento Hoyas for showing up to prove they are one of the top teams on the West Coast. Final 4 Teams, #9 Academy of Future Ballers (2-2) lost to the top 2 teams in the event and TJ Ford (3-2) overcame the long travel schedule and impressed by beating a tough #13 Team DTermined team to advance to the Final 4. #13 Team DTermined proved they are one of the better teams out West.
13U Open Division
- Number of Teams: 12
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #4 Demo Prep, #5 Real Run 2022, #6 RMG Elite, #7 LA Bobcats Elite, #15 RC Bulls Black, #7 Southwest Region Ventura Vipers 2022, #9 Socal Region Socal Spartans
- Champion: #6 RMG Elite
#6 RMG Elite (5-0) traveled shorthanded and recruited Elite Sport Club’s Skyy Clark and Sam Slutske to help them compete at a higher level given the level of competition. Although Clark and Slutske helped earn them the championship, it became very clear RMG players Evan Young, Noah Clifford, Po Maui are national level type players. We were particularly impressed with the continued improvement of Noah Clifford. Clifford’s Final 4 battle against Demo Prep’s big man, Tyler Linhardt, made it known that he will be competing for the top big man spot over the next year.
Runner-Up #5 Real Run 2022 (4-1), another National Level Team, is another national level team that continues to improve and will make a run at #1 over the next year. They got a core group of talented players Aden Casarez, Ben Shtolzberg, Max Allen, Michael Price, and Tanner Deal that continue to improve every time we see them. #4 Demo Prep (3-1) may have lost in the Final 4 to RMG Elite, but proved they are National Level team competing against Socal’s best without one of their top players , #EBCOregon MVP Trejon Williams. #7 LA Bobcats Elite (3-1) also advanced to the highly competitive Final 4 before losing to Runner-Up Real Run 2022. Christian Moore and Jacob Forster both had tremendous weekends.
14U Open Division
- Number of Teams: 8
- Grassroots 365 Ranked Teams: #10 Flight Elite Black, #21 Team Dream, #22 Fresno Next Level, #24 AZ Ventura Vipers 2021 Black, and #10 Norcal Region Matt Barnes Elite Black
- Champion: #24 AZ Ventura Vipers Black
The AZ Ventura Vipers Black (4-1) core group of Adrian Galindo, Brett Hardt, Derick Kaps, Wyatt Bell have been together for quite some time. It was impressive to see them come together one last time and earn a final Top 10 ranking. Runner-Up CJBA (3-2) may have been unranked coming in, but have done enough over the past month to make their debut in the Top 25. Final 4 Teams, Team Dream (3-1) and Flight Elite Black (3-1) also had a great showing to prove they belong in the Top 20 final rankings.
