RECAP: Halloween Classic ANAHEIM, CA – Many of the top club teams from across Southern California, including some from as far away as Canada, Fresno, Las Vegas and Phoenix made the trek to Open Gym Premier to compete in the 6th Annual Halloween Classic. The event was the last chance for SoCal Regional teams to make a statement for the upcoming G365 West rankings to be released November 15 on the new Grassroots 365 website. 8th Grade The 8th Grade Open Division featured 12 teams, including five G365 ranked teams. #1 Elite Sports Club went a perfect 4-0, defeating a tough #8 Real Run in the semis and up and coming Top 25, SkyBlue. Elite Sports Club were led by MOP, Amari Bailey and All-Tourney, Skyy Clark, who outlasted the trio of Brandon Perez (All-Tourney), George Ochoa, and Po Maui. Other teams who solidified their G365 West Top 25 ranking were semi-finalist Compton Magic, SkyBlue, Real Run, Team Dream, Vegas Elite, and Walnut Elite. 8th Gold East Champs: California Raptors 8th Gold West Champs: Team Nikos Elite 8th Grade Silver East Champs: West Coast Tigers 8th Grade Silver West Champs: Socal Trojans 8th Grade Silver South Champs: CAVS 13u 8th Grade Bronze: Pumas Elite 8th Grade Copper Champs: Rising Stars 7th Grade The 7th Grade Open Division came down to a battle between a hot Team DTermined and the Academy of Future Ballers, who were looking to make up for their earlier loss against the same team in pool play. The guard duo of Cameron Mercadel and Messiah McTeer played well for Team DTermined, but not well enough to stop MOP, Donald Bluitt, in the championship game that ended with a 47-41 score in favor of Academy of Future Ballers. 7th Grade Gold Champs: Two One Elite 7th Grade Silver East Champs: 7 Days 7th Grade Silver West Champs: Whittier Elite 7th Grade Bronze East Champs: Team Havoc 7th Grade Bronze West Champs: SD Bulldogs 7th Grade Copper East Champs: SGV 7 Grey 7th Grade Copper West Champs: San Diego PBC Blue 6th Grade The 6th Grade Open Division ended in a 3-way tie in pool play between #16 Fresno Swoosh Elite, #9 Team DTermined, and #15 OGP HQ Black. The tiebreaker would end up leading to a championship game Fresno Swoosh Elite and Term DTermined with Swoosh Elite winning big (48-29) in the championship game. Fresno Swoosh Elite is probably the most improved team in this division and played well enough to earn a G365 Top 10 ranking. 6th Grade Gold Champs: OGP HQ 11u Black 6th Grade Silver East Champs: Vegas Elite White 6th Grade Silver West Champs: SGV 6 Black 6th Grade Bronze East Champs: PTBA 6th Grade Bronze West Champs: JW Basketball 6th Grade Copper East Champs: San Diego PBC White 6th Grade Copper West Champs: San Diego Pre-Eminent 5th Grade The #3 Cali Stars picked up their 2nd championship of the fall season to solidify their Top 3 G365 ranking. Team DTermined will move into the Top 20 and Team Nikos also played well enough to remain among the Top 25. 5th Grade Silver Champs: Vegas Elite 5 White 5th Grade Bronze Champs: OGP HQ Orange 5th Grade Copper Champs: Pre-Eminent 4th Grade YouBall, The Truth, and Vegas Elite all performed well enough to solidify a Top 3 ranking. Dwayne Boston and King Riley for YouBall and Brandon Granger and Jason Crowe Jr. for the Truth are young players to watch. 4th Grade Silver Champs: Team Vegas 4th Grade Bronze Champs: 5 on Five Ballerz 4th Grade Copper Champs: Team Dream 3rd Grade Team Veritas took home the championship and earned a Top 3 G365 ranking. Runner-Up, Vegas Elite, had an impressive win over #3 Team Nikos that will also earn them a Top 5 G365 ranking. 3rd Grade Bronze Champs: 5 on Five Junior Ballerz 2nd Grade Overall, it was a great event that will play a big role in upcoming rankings to be released on November 15. We look forward to seeing the development of players and teams over the next few months.