BN Roundup: All GASO, no brakes

Duncanville, Texas set the stage for the 2024 GASO Spring Championships this past weekend where both boys 16U and 17U Puma NXT teams faced a stacked field over Saturday and Sunday.  To open the weekend, the 17U squeaked out a matinee matchup with Oklahoma Icons Elite 66-64. Their next contest was their biggest win of the weekend, with a 76-63 win over Drive Nation San Antonio to advance to the tournament semifinals. However, 409 Wolfpack out of Beaumont would hand the team their first loss on the weekend 55-51, even with Ballers Nation shooting a solid 7/13 from beyond the arc. The weekend would be capped with a 3rd Place Game matchup with Puma NXT’s highest power-ranked team out of the DFW area in Da Fam. Early foul trouble would result in Ballers Nation falling in a valiant 80-58 effort. The tandem of forward Jayden Jones and combo guard JaCorie Bradley, paired with the shooting of Tyler Henry would deliver for 17U over the weekend. The trio would contribute to over 60% of the team’s points via scoring or assisting. Head coach Brian Crawford had glowing reviews on the weekend on Sunday, “To finish 4th out of about 20 teams is a great benchmark for us. GASO always brings out the best from the area and the guys performed extremely well. They were able to open many eyes to the players East Texas produces both mentally and physically,” said Coach Crawford. 

The 16U started Saturday with a statement win over the Houston Defenders 63 to 48. Kenson Anderson shined with a team-high 22 points while going 9/10 on 2-point field goals. Their 2nd round game against GPS West Texas would begin in an absolute dogfight, with 7 lead changes in the first 5 minutes of game time. An early 2nd half 6-0 run would result in GPS getting the 72-66 victory. In the 3rd round, the 16U would get another dazzling performance from Anderson. The guard would end the weekend with a 25-point effort, tacked on with a 90% free throw clip. Coach Ricky Wilson backed the guard’s play as a pivotal part of the team, “He has a motor that can totally change any given game. Even through adversity, he fights through and becomes an absolute problem for anyone who is placed in front of him.” Ballers Nation 16U would fall in their final game of the weekend against ATX Lockdown 71-69 in a game that needed an overtime period to complete. 

Up next for Ballers Nation, the Lady Ballers head east down Interstate 20 for the Puma Girls Session 2 in Atlanta, GA. Go to ballersnationbasketball.com for updated scores and stats throughout the weekend!