2007 Boston City Classic Open Champions (Brighton, MA)
2007 15 and Under Boston Neighborhood Basketball League (BNBL) Site Runner-up (Dorchester, MA) **
2007 PIBNA 18 and Under Semi-finalist (Queens, NY)
2007 15 and Under Dotwell Summer League Runner-up (Dorchester, MA)
2007 14 and Under H.Y.P.E.’d to Hoop Tournament Runner-up (Roxbury, MA)

2008 Boston City Classic Open Runner-up (Brighton, MA)
2008 16 and under Asian Basketball Classic Champions (Ramapo, NJ)
2008 Wang YMCA Youth League Champions (Boston, MA)
2008 Boston Neighborhood Basketball League (BNBL) Site Runner-up (South Boston, MA)
2008 18 and Under Give Me 5 Champions (NJ)
2008 Coast Guard Flip League Mens Champions (Boston, MA)
2008 Washington CYC Winter Invitational 15 and Under Champions (Philadelphia, PA)
2008 Washington CYC Winter Invitational 18 and Under Runner-up (Philadelphia, PA

2009 Best of New England Mens Open division Runner-up (Mansfield, MA)
2009 Asian Basketball Classic 15 and Under Runner-up (New Jersey)
2009 Asian Basketball Classic 18 and Under Champions (New Jersey)
2009 Asian Basketball Classic Mens Open division Runner-up (New Jersey)
2009 FABA Metro DC Tournament Mens Open division Semi-finalist
2009 Safe City Ronin Park Summer League Girls Runner-up (Dorchester, MA)
2009 MASAE Invitational Tournament for Youth (MITY) 16 and Under Runner-up (Mansfield, MA)
2009 Boston Official Summer Showcase Mens Open Champions (Mansfield, MA)
2009 Philippines Inter-city Basketball of North America (PIBNA) 17 and Under Runner-up (Jacksonville, FL)

2009 Triple Threat Tournament Champions (Kingston, MA)
2009 Dreamleague Gotham City Games Semi-finalist (Manhattan/Long Island, NY)

2010 Hoop Dreams Invitational Champions (Kingston, MA)
2010 Pre-NACBAIT Tournament Mens Elite Semi-finalist (Englewood, NJ)
2010 Pre-NACBAIT Tournament Mens Open Runner-up (Englewood,NJ)
2010 Pre-NACBAIT Tournament 18 and under Semi-finalist (Englewood, NJ)

2011 Fastball Winter Invitational 18 and under Champions (Philadelphia, PA)

2011 Hoop Dreams Invitatonal Men’s Open Champions (Kingston, MA)
2011 Asian Basketball Classic Men’s Elite Runner-up (Englewood, NJ)
2011 Asian Basketball Classic Women’s Open Runner-up (Englewood, NJ)
2011 Asian Basketball Classic 18 and Under Runner-up (Englewood, NJ)

2011 Purple Summer Showcase Women’s Open Runner-up (Mansfield, MA)

2011 Purple Summer Showcase Men’s Open Runner-up (Mansfield, MA)

2012 Hoop Dreams Invitational Men’s Open Champions (Mansfield, MA)

Our prized Juvenile guard, Aaron Calixte went off for 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists against King Philip who has Maryland Terrapins-bound, Jake Layman. Despite Layman being 6’8 and Aaron being only 5’11, this was a pretty even match up in numbers (Layman had 30 points and 13 rebounds).

Aaron took a charge (yes, I owe him a Gatorade) to make a crucial defensive stop towards the end of the game. Plus he hit crucial shots from the charity stripe to ice the game. We are sure that we will have more to report as we follow Aaron Calixte for the rest of his high school career.

This game was also featured on ESPN Boston. Check the link http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/high-school/tag/_/name/aaron-calixte

MASAE Hoops and DYC is giving away a FREE pair of Nike Hyperdunks 2011 to one of the members of the MASAE Youth or Ladies team!

Eligibility: applicant must be a MASAE Youth or Ladies team member (20 years or younger) and enrolled in school (college acceptable). If you are unsure about your eligibility please feel free to contact Coach Vinny.

Essay: In 1,000 words  (700 if in 8th grade or under) Write about a significant experience or event in your life that has shaped who you are today. What are the positive and negative effects of this experience?

The top right of the paper should have the following:

Name

Date

Age

Level of Education

Team Division

Our panel of judges will determine the winner based on the following criteria: grammar, organization, overall structure, and content. The deadline is February 14, 2012 at 11:00 p.m. A winner will be announced the following week. Please submit all FINAL drafts (Microsoft Word form) to masaelife@gmail.com and title the subject “MASAE Hyperdunk Essay Contest.” Failure to comply to any of the rules or directions may result in a disqualification of the essay.

MVP: Jamaal Brooks (not pictured here) / Kevin Redmond

Mythical Five:
G. Bobby Simpson (PBM)
G. Kevin Bui (M. Juveniles)
G. Aaron Calixte (M. Juveniles)
G. Marcus (FOB City)
G. Soap Toan (PBM)

All Second Team
G. Pek Mith (PBM)
G. Oak Nguyen (PBM)
G. Harold Mortel (Flips)
G. Bipin Tamang (Crackout)
G. David (Lowell)

All Defensive Team
C. James Huang (Knights)
G. Pat Redmond (MASAE)
F. Sonny Phan (M. Juveniles)
F. Sony (Lowell)
F. Ben Wong (Crackout)

Final Four: MASAE Elite, MASAE Juveniles, Fob City, and PBM NY Top Gunz

PBM with a fresh new look (Nice Bullets throwbacks btw) was still the same old dominant team. Their first game against the young Juveniles was a free for all as both teams were shooting recklessly (yet hitting) like an old western, no John Wayne. But in the end, their offensive rebounding and overall size wore down the Juveniles. PBM breezed through the preliminary games and early playoffs until they ran into an overachieving FOB City squad. A tight game with more ups and downs than BP fuel prices, PBM was pushed to the brink of elimination until a few key turnovers from FOB City essentially sealed their fate. PBM squeezed by FOB City in a down to the wire victory.
Marcus had a total of 31 points. Oak had 21.

Pummeling through pool play and the early playoff rounds, MASAE Elite looked as if the new year invigorated the team. Every game was a statement game. Their younger brothers, the Juveniles, beat a bruising Lowell squad then dropping to the powerhouse PBM team in an exciting showcase of firepower. After defeating the Knights team in the quarter finals, the young MASAE team were placed in a rematch of last year’s championship game against the older generation. The MASAE Elite team had no intentions of keeping this game close. From the start, the Elite team ran the floor and the score up. Jamaal Brooks was merciless, cooking up 42 points to reiterate who the franchise player is in the club. But Aaron Calixte gave us more than enough proof that he is the future. Driving and finishing at impossible angles, it would prove to be a commendable effort as he dropped 28 points. In the end the MASAE Elite team took the contest in a 104-67 victory.

The theme for the championship game was “catch me of you can” as MASAE came out running and gunning for an impressive start. Co-MVP Kevin Redmond was knocking down treys and running the floor like a madman. Slowly but surely the PBM team started clawing back with great shooting from Soap Toan and Bobby Simpson. PBM chipped away at a 15 point lead in a matter of minutes with their high octane offense. Jamaal Brooks in an unusually quiet game, compensated by dominating the boards for MASAE. As the game concluded, Bobby Simpson scored a flurry of buckets to draw his team at one point within 3 points. But a pair of Kevin Redmond free throws down the stretch closed the window of opportunity for a comeback. MASAE defeats their NE rivals, PBM Top Gunz, to capture the 4th annual Hoop Dreams Invitational!

Thank you for all the teams that came out this past weekend to support a good cause! We will be donating a pair of sneakers to one of our youth members. Please visit the site frequently for more events and news!

Next tournament: July 21-22, 2012 Purple Summer Showcase

The schedule is formatted to accommodate the rule that every team will be able to compete for a championship regardless of the results of their preliminary games (as opposed to a consolation bracket for bottom seeds). The only downside to this format is that given the amount of total teams in the field (ten) the tournament will end around 8:30 p.m. Frankly, that’s not bad at all for a one day tournament that will only utilize two courts. We actually filled up the tournament at one point with 12 teams but due to unforeseeable events, a couple of teams had to back out. With 12 teams I had all four courts on the schedule (2 wooden, 2 composite courts) but with 10 we felt that the two wooden courts would be more feasible to manage, not to mention the wooden courts are always in demand.

We know that despite the elaborate explanations for how the schedule is constructed, some of you will complain or still ask the same questions repeatedly at the tournament haha. But for those that have ran a tournament and/or experienced multiple tournaments will empathize with the struggles involved with the intricacies of scheduling such an event. With an ten team field, we truly hope everyone enjoys this tournament! Good luck to all of the teams this Sunday!

Team Preview: Hoop Dreams 2012

MASAE Elite:

The host team is looking to kick the new year off with a bang after a luke-warm year in 2011. The Carmelo Anthony of Asian hoops, Jamaal Brooks (University of New Haven), is expected to be as prolific as ever. With the help of Kevin Redmond (Newbury College) and Jeff “Skeeter” Huynh, look for MASAE to be hungrier than the survivors from Alive (cannibalism not included).

MASAE Juveniles (Flight School) :
The young guns on the 19U youth squad are improving every minute and are absolutely deadly with their transition offense and suffocating full court press. Don’t let the baby faces fool you, these boys will do whatever it takes to pull off a win. 17 year old phenom, Aaron Calixte and Kevin “Young Haiti” Bui will take on the scoring load as Jim Tran, Minh Truong, and Branden Ngo anchor the team. Believe it or not, these teenage boys are the defending champions of this tournament. Last year they beat their elite team by one point to win the Hoop Dreams Invitational 2011. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown” and so we’ll see how long they balance it.

Lowell
Rich and Ray Tayag are the GM’s of the Lowell franchise and for a while seemed to be on the decline. But a few key pick-ups this past summer has kept them relevant, even upsetting the Boston Knights at the Purple Summer Showcase this past July. Their bruising style of play will always be their identity, but now they have found shooters and a solid playmaker. This could be the Cinderella team that pulls off some surprising wins.

Boston Flips
Harold Mortel looks to come back this year with a stronger squad after a disappointing collaboration with the PAMAS squad last year. His forwards, Alex Mortel (his son) and high post extraordinaire, Jun Dimagiba are key players to watch on this team. As the commissioner of the Flips league, expect Harold to pick up some contributing talent to the roster for this tournament.

Crackout
The MASAE alumni are back and their unorthodox style of gun and gun still perplexes teams. Combo guard, Bipin Tamang is still productive in the scoring column along with Cam Gammad. Athletic slasher Ben has improved and can really be the x-factor on their team. Forecast for these young ballers is that there will be a hailstorm of threes.

PBM NY Top Gunz:
Veteran big man, Jay Monteiro, and the PBM syndicate are unequivocally the favorites for this tournament. Champions of the Purple Summer Showcase 2011 and most recently, the Tournament of Champions in Virginia, Jay Monteiro, has been collecting gold like Michael Phelps. Back from this year’s SEA Games in Indonesia is Pek “Lefty Mismatch” Mith in the best shape of his life. With Soap Toan (Cambodian National Team alumni) and Oak “Legend” Nguyen (Mt. Ida College, Bloomfield, NJ) is still as sharp from deep as ever. Plus star guard, Bobby Simpson makes plays from everywhere, so it’s difficult to fathom a team that can match their experience and overall skill. It’ll be interesting to see if their team picks up any players from their New York/ New Jersey network or will it be strictly the loyal core of Rhode Islanders that have been so successful for them.

Showtyme:
Coming back from a torn miniscus recently, captain of the team from the Sin City (Lynn), Sunny Lok is reportedly more determined and better than ever. This team has great chemistry and hustle. Their run and gun style is restless. Don’t expect a second of breathing room if you’re trying to keep up with them.

FOB City:

The language of basketball is becoming universal so if this team truly consisted of FOBs it shouldn’t affect their ability to win games. With a few players on a 10-day contract from the Boston Knights like do-it-all forward, Andy Tam, FOB City is more than capable of pulling off some wins.

Future:
Undersized doesn’t always mean overmatched, ask the 2006 Villanova team. Possibly one of the fastest teams in the tournament, Future will not let their lack of size become an excuse for failure. Expect trey bombs from the resident sniper, Ratana Ny. Will Em is capable on scoring anywhere on the floor. This team will bring excitement in the form of reckless abandon on the court.

Boston Knights:
Boston’s original Asian club is back with their younger men’s team. Albeit this isn’t their elite team (except for sharpshooter Victor Cheung), no Knights team is a pushover in these tournaments. Expect a scrappy young men’s team that’s well coached to push teams around.

Date: Sunday January 15, 2012

Venue: Mansfield MPlex

Entry Fee: $350 (Deadline January 8th)

Registered Teams:
MASAE Elite
MASAE Juvenile (19U)
NY Top Gunz
Lowell
Showtyme
Future
Crackout
Flips
FOB City
Boston Knights
508 Ballers

FORMAT

-2 game preliminary round
-Single elimination playoff and qualifying round
-Playoff seeding determined by win/loss record and then point differential. In the case scenario where two teams tie in points we will factor in the head to head results. If head to head is inapplicable then a coin toss will determine the seeding.
-18 minutes halves. Running clock until the last 15 seconds. Stop time in effect at the 2 minute mark in the second half.
-Overtime is 3 minutes. Stop time in effect at the 1 minute mark.

Rules, Regulations, and Eligibility

-Games will start at scheduled times. If a team does not have at least 4 players at the time of the scheduled tip-off, the clock will start running. A point will be awarded to the opposing team for every minute that passes. Once 18 minutes passes, the team will automatically forfeit.
-Entry fee must be paid in full prior to each team’s first game. Teams that fail to pay their balance in full will not be allowed to start their game.
-Fighting is strictly prohibited. Anyone involved in a physical altercation will be disqualified from the tournament and removed from the venue.
-Teams must wear matching jerseys with unique numbers to distinguish each individual player. Players deemed “mismatched” with their team’s uniform will be assessed a technical foul before each game and the opposing team will be awarded 2 free throw shots.
-Players must be of Asian descent. The burden of proof falls on the team and players. If a player cannot provide the proper documents to prove their ethnicity, they will be disqualified from the tournament.