Sin City Shootout: San Diego Team Takes Second

A group of players from SD Hoops (sdhoops.net) formed an “All-Star team” of sorts. The roster included SD Hoops Defensive Player of the Year Rob Simmons, Eric Reissner, big men Chad Hermandorfer and Tommy Miles, rookie Noah Ingram, Patrick Jackson, Sergio Villegas, and scorers A.C. Carter and Jay Irby.

The first day, Saturday, featured three scheduled games. San Diego handled a team from Washington D.C. easily, dispatching them with a 20-point victory in an early 8:00 AM game. Next up was the All-City Ballers, a compilation of players from different cities thought to be the best team in the tournament. But San Diego posted another double-digit victory over the supposed “dream team.” In the third and final game of Day One, San Diego lost by two points in overtime to an Austin team who had been drubbed by the All-City Ballers. The guys felt great about their performance, having garnered one of the top seeds and knowing they could compete with anyone.

Day Two meant the tournament had reached the “one-and-done” stage, where a loss would eliminate a team. San Diego was pitted against perhaps the most athletic team in the country, Atlanta, but still came away with a 10-point victory. The win set up a rematch with the All-City Ballers in the title game.

Unfortunately for San Diego, the results were different this time around. After falling behind big early in the game, San Diego clawed its way back to within two points before eventually losing.

“We got close, but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Reissner. “They were bigger, taller, and faster than us, but we played the game the ‘right way,’ which enabled us to keep it close. Tommy and Chad played really well all weekend and attacked the boards like animals. Rob played lock-down defense all weekend. A.C. carried us most of the weekend in the scoring aspect of things, and at times, he was unstoppable.”

Kudos to San Diego for a second-place finish and proving that they were among the best in the country.

[This story will appear in the January 27th issue of Gay San Diego.]