ANAHEIM, CA – Many of the top club teams from across Southern California, including some from as far away as Canada, Fresno, Las Vegas and Phoenix made the trek to Open Gym Premier to compete in the 6th Annual Halloween Classic. The event was the last chance for SoCal Regional teams to make a statement for the upcoming G365 West rankings to be released November 15 on the new Grassroots 365 website.
8th Grade
The 8th Grade Open Division featured 12 teams, including five G365 ranked teams. #1 Elite Sports Club went a perfect 4-0, defeating a tough #8 Real Run in the semis and up and coming Top 25, SkyBlue. Elite Sports Club were led by MOP, Amari Bailey and All-Tourney, Skyy Clark, who outlasted the trio of Brandon Perez (All-Tourney), George Ochoa, and Po Maui. Other teams who solidified their G365 West Top 25 ranking were semi-finalist Compton Magic, SkyBlue, Real Run, Team Dream, Vegas Elite, and Walnut Elite.
- 8th Gold East Champs: California Raptors
- 8th Gold West Champs: Team Nikos Elite
- 8th Grade Silver East Champs: West Coast Tigers
- 8th Grade Silver West Champs: Socal Trojans
- 8th Grade Silver South Champs: CAVS 13u
- 8th Grade Bronze: Pumas Elite
- 8th Grade Copper Champs: Rising Stars
7th Grade
The 7th Grade Open Division came down to a battle between a hot Team DTermined and the Academy of Future Ballers, who were looking to
make up for their earlier loss against the same team in pool play. The guard duo of Cameron Mercadel and Messiah McTeer played well for
Team DTermined, but not well enough to stop MOP, Donald Bluitt, in the championship game that ended with a 47-41 score in favor of Academy
of Future Ballers.
- 7th Grade Gold Champs: Two One Elite
- 7th Grade Silver East Champs: 7 Days
- 7th Grade Silver West Champs: Whittier Elite
- 7th Grade Bronze East Champs: Team Havoc
- 7th Grade Bronze West Champs: SD Bulldogs
- 7th Grade Copper East Champs: SGV 7 Grey
- 7th Grade Copper West Champs: San Diego PBC Blue
6th Grade
The 6th Grade Open Division ended in a 3-way tie in pool play between #16 Fresno Swoosh Elite, #9 Team DTermined, and #15 OGP HQ Black.
The tiebreaker would end up leading to a championship game Fresno Swoosh Elite and Term DTermined with Swoosh Elite winning big (48-29) in the championship
game. Fresno Swoosh Elite is probably the most improved team in this division and played well enough to earn a G365 Top 10 ranking.
- 6th Grade Gold Champs: OGP HQ 11u Black
- 6th Grade Silver East Champs: Vegas Elite White
- 6th Grade Silver West Champs: SGV 6 Black
- 6th Grade Bronze East Champs: PTBA
- 6th Grade Bronze West Champs: JW Basketball
- 6th Grade Copper East Champs: San Diego PBC White
- 6th Grade Copper West Champs: San Diego Pre-Eminent
5th Grade
The #3 Cali Stars picked up their 2nd championship of the fall season to solidify their Top 3 G365 ranking. Team DTermined will move into
the Top 20 and Team Nikos also played well enough to remain among the Top 25.
- 5th Grade Silver Champs: Vegas Elite 5 White
- 5th Grade Bronze Champs: OGP HQ Orange
- 5th Grade Copper Champs: Pre-Eminent
4th Grade
YouBall, The Truth, and Vegas Elite all performed well enough to solidify a Top 3 ranking. Dwayne Boston and King Riley for YouBall
and Brandon Granger and Jason Crowe Jr. for the Truth are young players to watch.
- 4th Grade Silver Champs: Team Vegas
- 4th Grade Bronze Champs: 5 on Five Ballerz
- 4th Grade Copper Champs: Team Dream
3rd Grade
Team Veritas took home the championship and earned a Top 3 G365 ranking. Runner-Up, Vegas Elite, had an impressive win over
#3 Team Nikos that will also earn them a Top 5 G365 ranking.
- 3rd Grade Bronze Champs: 5 on Five Junior Ballerz
2nd Grade
Overall, it was a great event that will play a big role in upcoming rankings to be released on November 15. We look forward to seeing the development of
players and teams over the next few months.
