The iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic Crown Is 2GZ

SOUTH JAMAICA, NY - The 2014 iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic Championship was held on Saturday afternoon with a pair of local teams, 2GZ Entertainment (Steph) and Bello, facing off for the title.

The middle school gym in the Queens, NY was all decked out as Nike had come in and helped redo the floor this week, and with a packed crowd in attendance, it was 2GZ, who after a slow start, pulled away in the 3rd quarter and went on to claim their first iS8 crown, 76-68.

2GZ (Steph) came into this tournament as a team that some targeted to do big things. They had the talent with players such as Ty Jerome (Iona Prep '16), Shamorie Ponds (Thomas Jefferson '16), and Jaquan McKennon (Thomas Jefferson '15), but could they play together was the question that head coach Stefan Leacock kept hearing.

"I knew we had the talent coming in, and I believed we could win it but people didn't know if we could play together," Leacock said.

The whole tournament was his chance to prove those people wrong who doubted that his group could come together. To make that happen though, they had to overcome a Bello team chock full of local Queens kids ready to make a name for themselves as well.

Early on it was Bello who came out the stronger and with more intensity, and behind the play of forward Isaac Grant (Archbishop Molloy '16) who scored 10 quick points on the inside, they grabbed a 18-6 lead. Guard Jaheam Cornwall (Francis Lewis '16) knocked down a pair of threes as well and it looked like Bello was going to make this a blowout early on.

Jerome scored a bucket in transition to break up what was an 8-0 Bello run, and Ponds beat the buzzer with a layup off a cross court pass from Jerome to make it 20-12 Bello after one.

The first 7 points of the 2nd went to 2GZ as McKennon connected on a three from the left corner, and then after a Bello turnover, he slashed down the lane and finished on a beautiful up and under layup, and 2 minutes into the quarter and it was a 20-19 game.

Both teams traded baskets, and Bello held the lead until Travis Morgan (Elmont '16) came in and 30 seconds later drained a wing three ball with 4:41 to go in the half to give 2GZ a 24-23 lead.

Bello quickly regained the lead and were up 29-24 with 1:32 to go in the 2nd but Davon Dillard (OSNA '15) scored on a putback of a Jerome miss, and then off a beautiful pass by Ponds, he scored on an easy lay in to get his squad within 1 again. A long three ball was missed by Bello, and in the closing seconds 2GZ got the ball back and Ponds found McKennon on the right wing where he hit a big three right at the buzzer to put 2GZ (Steph) up 31-29 at the half.

At the half there weren't many words spoken in the 2GZ huddle, but Ponds says the words that were spoken by their coach were taken to heart.

"Coach just said to go out and play like we can," Ponds said.

Ponds had a fairly quiet opening half only scoring 6 in the opening 16 minutes, but in the 3rd, he took his coach's words to heart and started to elevate the level of his game, and began to take over.

Forward Davere Creighton (Thomas Jefferson '15) had a pair of early buckets in the 3rd as he started to impose his will and toughness on a tired Bello frontline, but it was Ponds who was able to attack the basket and score in an array of ways. He hit on a three from the left side, and then was fouled on another three that sent him to the line where he connected on all three of his FT's. He then attacked and scored on a beautiful reverse, and he capped it off with and around the back pass to himself where he then finished with a layup that had the crowd on their feet. Ponds had 12 points in the quarter that saw 2GZ take their biggest lead of the game after three, up 58-45 going into the final quarter.

It was going to be an important first 2 minutes of the 4th to see what Bello could do to muster a comeback, but it was Dillard who scored the first 4 of the 4th for 2GZ and the lead was ballooned to 62-45 and it was a seemingly impossible hole for Bello to get out of.

Cornwall buried a three to close the gap again, but whatever Bello did, it seemed 2GZ had an answer. Creighton was able to use his athleticism and size combination to get to the basket off the dribble drive and finish with authority at the rim, and with 1:06 to go it was 74-61 2GZ and the championship winners looked like has already been crowned.

Sloppiness started to take over at this point though and careless mistakes by 2GZ allowed Bello to score 7 straight points with guard Aaron Walker (Cardozo '16) punctuating the run with a three to make it 74-68 with 12 seconds to play. The pressure that the Bello guards were applying was having its desired effect. They needed one more stop though, but Ponds controlled the ball and held it until he was fouled with 2 seconds to go. The junior guard connected on both, and a halfcourt heave for Bello fell short, and it was 2GZ who were champions, winning the iS8 Fall Classic Championship over Bello, 76-68.

Ponds was named Championship Game MVP as he pouring in a game high 24 points in the win, with Dillard and Creighton each contributing with big efforts, scoring 16 apiece for 2GZ.

Grant was the high man for Bello with 18 points in defeat while Cornwall added 14, and Walker chipped in 11.

The Game MVP puts Ponds alongside some of the great names in NYC basketball history to come to the famed tournament and take home the honor, and he understands just what this honor could mean for him.

"There have been a lot of big time players who have come in here, and I want to be a big time player so this is something that I definitely wanted," Ponds said.

It may be an honor for Ponds, but for Leacock, who says that he lives just down the block from the Jamaica, NY school, it may mean even more.

"iS8 is like the NBA in Queens, and even though it has Nike and everything, this is a neighborhood tournament, and to be from here and win it, it's special," Leacock said.

And for the people who doubted him and his team coming into the tournament, Leacock says he is glad to prove them wrong, and he believes that his group can come back and do it again come the spring.

"They all worked together for this and it's amazing. We will be back here in the spring and we will be even better."