FYBA METRO DC TEAMS ROLL OPPOSITION IN THE 2016 NABA INTER-CITY BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT – Best Performance EVER!
As a witness to the greatest performance yet, the Filipino-American Youth Basketball Association (FYBA), representing the Metro DC area in the annual North American Basketball Association (NABA) Labor Day tournament, took home 5 championship trophies, 2 runner up honors and a sterling performance by the rest of the teams.
The annual tournament was held last Labor Day weekend in Spooky Nook, the largest indoor sports complex in North America, located just outside of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
FYBA, sending a contingent of 15 teams (11 representing DC and 4 representing Virginia) to the two-day tournament, had the largest representation among the 24 participating cities from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The Numbers:
• 14 of the total 15 FYBA Teams all won their 1st game on Day 1
• 12 Teams continued on to play on Day 2 with 7 having undefeated records
• 7 Teams played in their respective Division Championships
• 5 Teams won their Championships games with 2 Teams as Runners Up
The Champions:
• DC Mosquitos (U-9)
• DC Tykes (U-11)
• DC Peewee (U-13)
• DC Damsels (U-14)
• DC Collegiate (U-24)
The Runners Up:
• DC Juvenile (U-20)
• DC Masters (Over-40)
The entire FYBA contingent, from Mosquitos all the way to Masters, played all their games with heart and soul, especially the Tykes team, who had to play 8 games in 2 days. With their backs against the wall, they won all 6 consecutive games to climb up from the Losers bracket to grab the much-coveted Championship trophy.
Another milestone in FYBA’s ever growing list of successes in the basketball arena is its own Damsels Team winning the Championship 4 years in a row, a 4-peat, forming a mini-dynasty of some sort and one for the NABA record books.
The Mosquito, Peewee, Damsels and Collegiate Teams were all undefeated in the tournament to win their respective Division Championships.
The Juvi Team rolled into the Final with a 3-0 record and was poised to make it 6 Championships, but lost at the buzzer in overtime.
One bit of news making the rounds was that an elite team from a Midwest city was specially formed for this year’s tournament with just one purpose: to beat Washington DC.
That didn’t happen. That only shows you how good the FYBA teams have become through the years.
In the early years of FYBA’s participation in NABA, other cities apparently wanted to play against DC teams to score an easy victory.
Not anymore! We are now the most feared teams at NABA.
FYBA’s greatest performance yet can very well be attributed to the aches and pains of year-long practices, clinics and mini tournaments provided by the FYBA Organization and its very supportive coaches, parents, donors and volunteers.
The Filipino-American youth in the DMV looks forward to these activities every Sundays. While having fun during physical activities, they find opportunities to meet new friends also.
One word to best describe FYBA’s phenomenal rise over a short period of time as a powerhouse in Fil-Am basketball: UNSTOPPABLE!
