This weekend Fierce had 6 teams in action at the Zero Gravity Fall Opener.   8th grade took home their second consecutive tournament crown and have not lost this season! They defeated DTX Basketball 54-49 in overtime to win it all.   5th grade once again reached their championship game with a 40-33 win over CT PHD. They could not get past a tough Queens Defenders squad.   7th grade Lipow went 2-1 on the weekend but the road ended against High Rise Elite.   7th grade Dinihanian pulled out a hard-earned 38-31 win over CT PHD in their Sunday morning game.   Another great weekend by the Fairfield Fierce.

Fierce had 5 teams in action this weekend in New Haven.   8th grade came home with the championship with wins over Game Changers, 3D Hoops and CT Dream. Alex Llach was on fire all weekend from outside, but also delivered high level defense. Speaking of defense, Dameer Phifer was locking down at key moments, while also controlling the ball within the offense. Josh Daniels and Liam Yin brought a huge impact to the game on both sides of the floor. Tate Mahoney was up to his usual tricks with clutch 3 pointers from way downtown, and Luca Fusco helped with ball control and timely buckets. Nicolas Alvarez came up big in the title game with rebounds and mid-range jumpers, while Chris Bellantoni, Jaxon Ganchou and Ben Feinstein made the most of their opportunities off the bench.   5th grade almost went all the way in their tournament as well. After two huge wins on Saturday, they met a tough Amity Heat squad in the championship game. Down 12 points with 5 minutes remaining, the Fierce stormed back behind the clutch play of Jayden Wang, Matty Raffaeli and Eliah Pierre-Louis. In the end, they came up just short by a final score of 38-37. Throughout the weekend, Jack Pizzano was spraying in buckets from all over the court, with the rest of the gang hustling everywhere to bring great defense and energy.   9th grade won 2 out of 3 including back-to-back exciting games over CBA. Ty Levine scored 39 points on the weekend and distributed to teammates as well. Julian Marottolo used his speed to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Jack Plesser showed off his improved outside shooting along with some impressive floaters through the lane. Anthony Gambuzza also impressed with nifty scoring moves, and locked in defensively. Luka Ljuboja was a rebounding machine.   In three close games, 6th grade was powered by the scoring of Krish Dodani and Gavin Mertz. Cole Krollman was aggressive on both sides of the ball. Matty Corrigan was attacking the basket in the Sunday game, while Caden Quigley and Mitch DeBernardo put in some 3 pointers to keep the game close. Carson Dodder played tough inside.   7th grade Dinihanian put things together for a win against Game Changers. Justin Toothaker, Luke Stasko, Timmy Kelleher, Jack McClane and Kyle Dulak were all sinking 3 pointers throughout the weekend. Oliver Ljuboja was a force inside defensively, and Charlie McLean was gobbling up the rebounds.   Great job Fierce!

We are extremely proud of our 6th grade team that competed in Boston Nationals this weekend -- finishing in 2nd place out of a huge field of 36 total teams.   We won 6 straight games to make it all the way to the National Championship Game, where we fell just short 58-56.   However we walked away champions because of the life-long bonds and memories formed.   Congratulations boys.     Below is the tournament summary by game:   Fairfield Fierce - 48, Ballin' Bulldogs - 41 (player of game: Justin Wang) Fairfield Fierce - 56, Westchester Athletics - 50 (player of game: Matt Goos) Fairfield Fierce - 42, Worcester Sting - 37 (player of game: Charlie Jones) Fairfield Fierce - 42, Metro West Swarm - 29 (player of game: Matty Kleinman)   QUARTERFINALS, Fairfield Fierce - 46, Rochester Bobcats - 43 (player of game: Ryan Moore)   SEMI-FINALS, Fairfield Fierce - 40, Greenwich Stars - 36 (player of game: Nick Brodsky)   FINALS, Fairfield Fierce - 56, Avon Aviators - 58 (player of game: Beck Simunovic)

This weekend in the Vertical Hoops Summer Slam, the Fierce Freshmen Team played three close games -- and pulled out two of them.   In the opener against the CT Stallions, they trailed by 12 points at half time -- received a pep talk from Coach Judah -- and came back to win by 3 points over the CT Stallions. Timmy Bristol was pouring in points in all game long, and it was Caiden Clayton who made the go ahead bucket with under 30 seconds remaining.   On Sunday, it was the opposite story against the CT Comets, as the Fierce found themselves up by 12 points only to relinquish the lead and trail by 4 points with one minute remaining. However they refused to allow the game to get away from them, as Matt Vivona sunk a huge three-pointer from NBA range to jump back ahead 52-51. Then Ryan Noble delivered the defensive play of the game with a steal that he took the length of the floor for a foul and visit to the free throw line. The CT Comets had one final chance with 8 seconds remaining but missed a three pointer to recapture the lead. Ny Wade secured the defensive rebound for the win.

In this weekend's CT SuperCup, the Fierce 4th, 6th and 9th grade teams all advanced to their Championship Games!   It was a drama filled tournament.   4th grade won both of their Saturday games due to their high pressure full court defense that has been there for them all season.   6th grade played elite level competition all weekend and won 4 out of the 5 games. On Saturday, they won their two games by a combined 3 points, which included Nick Brodsky's buzzer beater vs the Avon Aviators. On Sunday, they overwhelmed Mig's Team and New England Rivals with fun to watch team ball movement and defensive energy. Charlie Jones was wowing the crowd with his fast break moves to the basket. Matt Goos was a monster with at least 10 rebounds every game. Justin Wang, Matty Kleinman and Danny Goldberger flew around the court turning steals into instant offense. Finbar Malloy was distributing assists, rebounding and blocking shots. Kyle Dulak was draining open 3's and Josh Stewart-Jones contributed tough defense and rebounding.   9th grade overcame their size disadvantage to play all the way to the final seconds of the Championship. JT Shapiro controlled the ball as point guard, Timmy Bristol was doing a lot of everything (including scoring), Ryan Noble and Dillon Mannix lit it up with their outside shooting, Andre Mead won every loose ball, and Caiden Clayton made big plays on both ends of the floor.

This weekend the 6th grade Fierce squad captured their second consecutive tournament title by winning the Connecticut Classic!   On Saturday, they defeated CT PHD by a final score of 44-27. Alex Kingan was bruising down low for offensive rebound put backs, while Josh Stewart-Jones was getting his signature floater from the wing to go all game. They then pulled out a 41-39 win over Hamden Regional in a game which saw a wacky wild finish. Down 39-38 with 17 seconds remaining, the Fierce called a timeout to set up a baseline inbounds play. However upon returning to the court, the official controversially called '5 seconds' on the inbounder. The Fierce kept their cool and stole the ball back, and were then fouled in a bonus situation, which sent Matty Kleinman to the free throw line for a "1 and 1". Matty came up clutch by sinking the first free throw to tie the game. He missed the second but got his own rebound and passed the ball out to Justin Wang who drove to the hoop and was fouled on the shot attempt. Justin did not feel the pressure of the moment either, as he drained both free throws to help the Fierce win the game.   On Sunday, the boys played beautiful team basketball on their way to a 30 point blowout over ACC Basketball. Ryan Grooms and Callum McLean were knocking down outside shots, and Mark Kingan was bodying up down low. The win set up an anticipated re-match with Hamden Regional in the championship game, but the Fierce were ready and set the tone with an early 19-0 lead. Justin Wang and Matty Kleinman forced turnover after turnover, and Charlie Jones was finishing his attacks to the rim. Nick Brodsky continued his stellar play from both the inside and outside -- filling up the stat sheet with points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Nick is averaging close to a triple double on the season! Matt Goos has been leading the team in rebounds and this weekend was no different, averaging 15 boards per game. However Matt has also been contributing more offensively, averaging nearly 10 points per game and even knocking down some mid-range jump shots.   Congratulations again to 6th grade!

This weekend the 6th grade Fierce team took home the championship trophy in the Connecticut States tournament!   On Saturday, their ferocious defense was on full display as they turned back the clock and looked like the old 'bad boy' Detroit Pistons. Three players were blocking the same shot. The defense was scrambling and rotating all over the court to put pressure on the ball. Between TWO games, opponents scored a TOTAL of 22 points -- 13 points in the first game and only 9 points in the second game. Charlie Jones was cutting off the passing lanes and then going coast to coast on his way to a season high 22 points. Finbar Malloy was like a "swiss army knife" -- providing a little bit of everything -- scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Kyle Dulak shot lights out with 4 three pointers. Joshua Stewart-Jones and Ryan Grooms contributed timely buckets as well.   On Sunday, the competition got tougher but the Fierce stepped up their level play another notch. In a 31-20 morning win over the Newtown Monarchs, Danny Goldberger controlled the offense as point guard and also caused chaos with his pressure defense. The victory advanced the Fierce to the 4pm Championship Game at Insports, where they had a showdown with 3D Basketball. Everything came together for an all-around 52-42 team win for the state title. Nick Brodsky received MVP honors as he recorded the first triple double in Fierce program history -- with approx 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks. Justin Wang led all scorers with 16 points. Matt Goos was tremendous in the paint with 10 points and 14 rebounds.   Congratulations 6th grade!

Freshmen win both games in their opening day together.   They came out of the gates with great passing in a 56-26 blowout over My Brothers Keeper and followed that with a gritty 51-44 victory over NY Pride.

WOW what a weekend of hoops for the Fierce.   4th grade won all 3 of their games convincingly to capture the Vertical Hoops Spring Tip-Off Crown. Led by Coaches Andy and Sam, the boys passed the ball beautifully and ran the floor as if they've been playing together for years. The defensive energy turned into quick and easy scoring chances.   Shortly after, 5th grade led by Coach Judah pulled out the Championship as well! They too delivered relentless defensive pressure and unselfish ball movement. In the semi-final game, they had to overcome the CBA team that had defeated them just one day earlier, and they rose to the challenge.   6th grade played an excellent first game where they held their opponent to only two points in the second half to win 46-22. They then faced a tough CBA squad in 2 straight games, and competed all the way until the end in both.   7th grade grew tremendously together in their 2nd weekend. On Saturday they locked in for impressive victories over two strong teams, including an overtime thriller vs CT Spartans. Then on Sunday after a quarterfinal win over North Stars, the Fierce found a way to out-muscle a bigger, faster opponent by a final score of 65-57 to advance to the Championship. They fought hard vs Elm City Elite in the Finals but came up just short by 5 points.   8th grade had a fantastic weekend as well, winning 2 out of their 3 games including a cohesive 45-32 win over CBA in the early Sunday game. Coach Rob has those boys clicking.   Congrats to all of our Fierce teams this weekend!