San Diego, CA – The battle for San Diego’s top 8th grade team took place this past weekend at Open Gym Premier’s America’s Finest Session III event. The 14U gold division featured G365 SoCal #7 California Bearcats Black, past G365 Top 25, SD Republic, SDA Soldiers and LA based, Hawk Hoops Black. Surprisingly, it was the highest ranked team, California Bearcats Black, that went winless in pool play as the SD Republic, SDA Soldiers and Hawk Hoops Black tied for 1st . SD Republic and SDA advance to Championship based on point differential. The city rivals went back and forth early in the game before SD Republic pulled away to a 41-30 victory. The win places SD Republic back in the G365 Top 10. Angelo Gill earned tournament MVP honors.
The other division winners were split across teams from various regions of California:
- 8th Grade Silver East: SD Black Mambas
- 8th Grade Silver West: OGP Select Black
- 7th Grade Gold: G365 SoCal #7 Team Level Elite
- 7th Grade Silver East: Hawk Hoops Grey
- 7th Grade Silver West: SD Republic
- 6th Grade Gold: San Francisco Fire
- 6th Grade Silver/Bronze: Hawk Hoops Orange
- 5th Grade Gold: The Truth
- 5th Grade Silver/Bronze: Prodigy Basketball
- 4th Grade Gold: G365 #3 The Truth
- 4th Grade Silver: NorCal Bulls