Journey To The Fab 48

July 23, 2015. Team Industry makes their anticipated debut in the prestigious Fab 48 tournament. Never could anyone imagine a small team from the City of Industry would represent their city and program in one of the biggest tournaments in the nation. Just one year prior, Team Industry 17u was riding high on a miraculous 27 win season and just one game short of a trip to the Swoosh National Championship game. All Industry needed was the platform to showcase their talents on an even bigger stage. However, if they knew they were going to go to the dance, they needed the pieces to fall in place. So before we take a trip to the Fab 48, lets wind the clock back five months prior.

Saturday February 14, 2015

It’s Valentine’s Day! But for Team Industry Basketball, it was the first official tryout date for their 2015 campaign. After various recruiting trips all winter, Coach Beverly and his coaching staff knew if they were going to the Fab 48, they needed an all-around lineup that can keep up with the experienced AAU talent. After the selections were made, ten spots were filled. Their names were returning players Jason Reyes, Jonathan Barajas, Frank Acosta, Kelvin Mirhan, Bryan Ramirez and Andres Flores. Rounding out the newly recruited players were junior Keith Enrile, sophomore Aaron Acosta, freshman Chris Austin, and senior big man Rob Torres. After that morning, Team Industry 17u for 2015 was made and it was off to the races to the Fab 48.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Team Industry 17u started off the same way 2014 started, on a hot streak winning the 2015 NBN Winner Take All Tournament for the second consecutive season. Only playing with each other for two and half weeks, Industry already started off with a Championship. Even though the 17’s fell short of a second consecutive Championship berth in Palm Springs, Team Industry 17u started off the season 5-1. But as hot as Industry started, April came around the corner. Normally in the month of April is not Industry’s finest hour as the 2015 Double Pump Hoopfest approached. In 2014, Industry finished 0-3. However, that was last year and Industry knew it wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake twice and finish o-for’s. After falling to BTI a year ago lightning struck twice as a controversial call cost Team Industry the opening matchup in the tournament. But things got a little more interesting as Team industry would face off against arch-rival The Big Ballers in the second round. (DON’T WORRY WE’LL GET TO THEM ON THE NEXT BLOG…….SPOILER ALERT: INDUSTRY WINS). Following the win over the rivals, Team Industry would fall short to the Bay Area Warriors by three points. Even though Industry didn’t accomplish what they truly wanted, they still finished one game better than the previous. A week later, Industry returned to Championship Game berths as the finished runner-ups in the 2015 Open Gym Premier Spring Hoopfest. However, with San Diego approaching, Industry was about to get a little more interesting…..

Saturday May 2, 2015

Coach Beverly receives the news about two players interested in the program……their names were 6’4 Guard Erfran Samaei and 6’9 Amir Kamgar. It seemed like a little gift was sent to Beverly and his coaching staff as Industry’s front court AND back court got a little deeper. Despite a mixed reaction on their initial arrival, the two acquisitions were just what Beverly needed to prepare for the Fab 48. The mental state of mind of this team was battle tested early as Industry squared off in Round 2 of their meeting with…….you guessed it……The Big Ballers at the 2015 NBN Post-Memorial Day Tournament. (DON’T WORRY IT’S COMING. SPOILER ALERT: THIS TIME AROUND IT’S THE REAL BIG BALLERS TEAM SO: BIG BALLERS WON). After their meeting with the Big Ballers, Industry took care of business against Redlands Storm. But another mental block was coming… The Inland Havoc. Coached by Stephan Gilling, Inland Havoc had the pieces necessary to physically challenge Industry’s newly formed roster. After a stalemate in the first half, Industry fell hard in the second half as Industry posted their first 1-2 performance in a NBN tournament in over a year. However, after all the dust settled, Industry got right back to business as they won the 2015 SNU Showtime & JW Basketball Father’s Day Classic Tournament.

Shortly after that, Industry wheels were turning as the 2015 Pangos Sweet 16 was approaching. The Sweet 16 is the first of many NCAA Live Evaluation tournaments throughout Southern California as the last stop on the road to the Fab 48. After surviving the first two games against Moore Management and the LA Rockfish, Industry found their way to the semi-finals of the Sweet 16 against Team Compton. But for some strange reason, Industry would fall the next two games with the Fab 48 in their sights.

Sunday July 12, 2015

Just after their lost to TWE Elite in the third place game, Coach Beverly made his players run during the post-game. The message was loud and clear as Industry had to perform to their maximum potential if they wanted to impress the big names in Vegas. After regaining their mental focus, Industry went right back to work in the gym for two solid weeks. Every practice Beverly and his staff prepared the players for the exact fight they would mentally (AND LITERALLY) be the days leading up to the event. After their final practice, INDUSTRY WAS READY…….

Thursday July 23, 2015

So here we are! Las Vegas, Nevada! Two championships and several roster changes later, Industry was about to tipoff against Up N Coming in game one of the Fab 48. Industry found themselves needing to finish in the top two to advance to the Championship bracket. After trading blows back and forth against Up N Coming, Industry came up short in the opening round. However, after a mentally tough matchup against Bakersfield Elite, Industry found themselves on the hunt for the Championship bracket. The next day, their next opponent was Basketball Mathematics out of Los Angeles. If Industry won, they would finish in the top two and advance, but with an Industry loss they would wind up in the third place bracket. After breakout performances, Industry defeated Basketball Mathematics to advance to the Championship bracket against non-other than (TAKE A WILD GUESS)…….THE BIG BALLERS!

Saturday July 25, 2015

If mentally draining can describe this day that would be an understatement. Where do we begin? We can talk about the pre-game meeting, we can talk about Coach Beverly’s usual lost voice, we can talk about “the Fight(s)” that occurred that day, or maybe we can talk about one of Industry’s greatest rivals coming reaching the ultimate finale. The Fab 48 proved to do plenty for Team Industry Basketball. Sure, we remember the Championship bracket games as the Ultimate Finale or the fist fight with Revolution, but if there’s one thing we can take from all this is that Industry competed in one of the biggest tournaments in one of the biggest tournaments in the Nation! We may have come up short against Revolution in the quarter finals, but Industry proved to be a household name while taking on some of the best competition this nation had to offer. And we did it together!