FRANKLIN, Tenn.—The Tennessee Waltz is over and the “Big Dance” is up next. Round two of the 2015 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League is in the books and the tickets are punched for 24 of 32 Nike teams to take the floor again in Augusta later this month. Here in Tennessee the Moore and Diggins Divisions each had an opposite sense of drama down the stretch. In the Moore, Saturday night saw the Fairfax Stars and Georgia Metros see the writing on the wall with one game still remaining that there would be no trip to Nike Nationals this summer. There was a bottle neck of five teams with identical 3 and 6 records entering Sunday’s final game for the right to be part of the six Diggins teams moving on in the 2015 EYBL. The New Jersey Sparks and Texas United had their bubble burst joining the Stars and Metros on the sidelines. Each of the eliminated teams completed their schedule with 3 and 7 records.
In Chicago the four teams coming up short from the Taurasi and Griner Divisions were All Ohio Black, New York Lady Choz, Albany City Rocks and the Epiphanny Prince Elite. All four teams finished two rounds of games with 2 and 8 records.
The Cal Stars were the only undefeated team across two rounds claiming the Diggins Division in the process. The All Iowa Attack and DFW T – Jack squads both finished at 9 and 1 claiming the Griner and Taurasi Divisions respectively. The Kentucky Premier edged the Philadelphia Belles by one game at 8 and 2 to post the best record in the Moore Division.
Nike Nationals are set for July 27 – 30 in North Augusta, South Carolina at the Riverview Park Activities Center. The California Storm – Team Taurasi claimed the inaugural EYBL crown defeating Tree of Hope in the championship game last July. Additionally, for the second consecutive year and in conjunction with the event, Nike is also running an invitation only Skills Academy for rising 8th and 9th graders from the 32 EYBL programs.
Below are images as well as overall and second round record for each of the 16 teams competing here in Tennessee. For complete standings and addition information on the EYBL follow the link below.
For individual and team stats for all 32 teams as well as well as results and box scores go to Game Changer at www.gc.com. (Registration required)
Check back with Blue Star Media for additional EYBL coverage in addition to other reports from our extensive July schedule of events.
