The Oofii Simcoe United Grade 7 boys basketball team clinched first place in the Canadian Youth Basketball Summer League (CYBL) regular season with a recent 49-41 victory over RWI.
United competed against two other teams sporting the same record with the top seed in the playoff bracket on the line.
The first game of the weekend against RWI was marked by a battle between the top two defensive teams in the league with different styles. Although RWI used their intense, trapping full-court pressure, United’s half-court man defence made it hard to score and kept the game close until the last minutes of the game.
Great closeouts limited a strong RWI team, which made only three pointers on the game. By using RWI’s pressure against them, United was able come off late for a 49-41 win.
This allowed the winner to compete in a battle for first place against the School of Movement.
United played several giant unique lineups and scrambled to hold back the rush and role-playing attack of the School of Movement. Despite that, the team manged to dominate the paint and scored 59 of their 70 points, either in the paint or at the foul line.
Caden McFee scored 18 of his 31 points in the second half, as United overcame a small deficit to earn a 70-57 win.
At 8-2 and having secured the top seed, the team featuring eight Orillia Lakers and three Barrie Royals players will now play in the CYBL playoffs from Aug. 5 to Aug 7.
