FLUSHING, NY - The Borough Championships took place at Queens College this past Saturday. The four games featured a ton of great matchups. This isn’t the playoffs this was an opportunity to win your borough. This meant a lot to these programs, players and fans. We love the passion and the environment on Saturday. It's always great to see some of the City’s best.
Game 1: Brooklyn
We wrote a full recap and story about this one, that is an absolute must read. This game will be talked about for years and years to come. As the drama built up, before the game was getting intense. While these teams were both unbelievable all year a lot of controversy came when the seeds dropped. Even more came about when Thomas Jefferson beat Southshore to get to the finals but was ruled ineligible late Friday night. The drama late in the game was absolutely wild and will be argued across the city possibly forever. 6’3” PG Jakai Sanders (Eagle Academy Brooklyn, NY ‘24) was the hero as he cashed a banked shot from almost out of bounds to win it late for the Eagles.
Game 2 Manhattan
This matchup featured the No.1 seed Murry Bergtraum HS and the No. 2 seed Thurgood Marshall HS. These two squads went back and forth all half trying to press as well as speed up the game. Murry B finished strong taking a solid 22-16 lead into halftime but TMA wasn’t going away. Thurgood Marshall was able to grab a five point lead halfway through the fourth quarter and after some key defensive stops as well as some late free throws they were able pull off the upset. They had contributions from everyone in their rotation but 6’8” F Abdou Tahirou (Thurgood Marshall HS, NY ‘25) definitely had his fingerprints all over this win.
Game 3: Bronx
The third game at Queens College featured the No. 1 seed Eagle Academy Bronx and the No. 2 seed James Monroe both are two of our favorite PSAL programs. They each feature exciting rosters with several players who can make an impact at the college level plus two tremendous coaching staffs. While Eagle was slowly finding their way in the first half Monroe hit some big threes giving them a 24-20 lead at the break. Monroe looked ready to pull it off until a big slam from the Eagles plus a monster third quarter by 6’2” PG D’Andre Gibbs (Eagle Academy Bronx, NY ‘24). He followed it up with a strong fourth and despite Monroe fighting to get back in it they ended up falling to Eagle 63-55.
Game 4: Queens
The final game of the day featured an undefeated Cardozo squad and the No. 3 seed Construction HS who knocked off John Bowne HS in a close one. Construction looked to get revenge after the Judges were able to get by them in the regular season. This matchup featured two of New York City’s best point guards as Cardozo took a 25-18 lead into halftime. While everyone focused on the stars it allowed a few other key players to step up for their teams. In the second half Construction made a nice run by the Judges but just hit too many big shots and got several stops whenever they needed it. Cardozo wins back-to-back. They remain undefeated and will now look to ride 6'0” PG Jordin Walker (Benjamin Cardozo HS, NY ‘24) as far as they can in the upcoming playoffs.
