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!

In the first day of Spring AAU action, all Fierce teams had an impressive debut.   4th grade won both of their games including a 30-26 nail-biting victory to tip off their season. Matty Raffaeli and Landon Gartner led the offensive attack with strong drives to the rim. But the team received contributions across the board.   5th grade found themselves behind by 12 points in the second half of their opening game, but stormed all the way back to pull it out by a final score of 41-37. Their ball movement was fun to watch. Luca Scalera was flying around everywhere on his jet pack. Blake Watkins and Roderick Hill Jr. were relentless on defense. Mitch DeBernardo and Carson Dodder gobbled up rebound after rebound. Krish Dodani and Devin Brenner were knocking down their open outside shots.   6th grade held their own against a high level Heat Elite squad, only trailing by 1 point in the second half. Justin Wang flashed around the court like a bolt of lightning. Danny Goldberger and Matty Kleinman controlled the ball, while Mark Kingan and Matt Goos controlled the paint. Finbar Malloy was aggressive attacking from the wing.   7th grade split their two close games and looked terrific doing it. Gerald Jacobs, Devin Julious, Bobby Welch, Liam Yin and Luca Fusco all highlighted the day.   8th grade also split their games and were powered by Nolan Hansen, Jack Plesser, Anthony Gambuzza... and everyone else.   A phenomenal opening day to the spring season!

The Fierce started off 2019 where they left off 2018.... playing high-level team basketball.   6th grade got the day started with a big blowout win over Guilford. Jack Cramer enjoyed a breakout game with 14 points.   5th grade competed hard but came up 6 points short against a physical St. Theresas club.   7th grade rallied in the second half to pull away from Milford by a final score of 46-29.   Bring on 2019!

The Fierce finished off the fall season this weekend in strong fashion!   5th grade ran off three straight hard fought victories to advance to the championship game. Then as a heavy underdog, they almost pulled out a major upset against the Fenom Fire, missing a three pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. Their teamwork together vs Day 1 of the season was night and day.   6th grade John also ran off three straight wins against High Rise Elite, CT PHD and 3D Basketball before coming up short in their championship. The boys grew stronger together as the season went on.   6th grade Sam experienced a story book ending to their resilient season. In a fall where wins were hard to come by, and then trailing by as much as 14 points in their final game, magic happened and they stormed back to win the game in the final moments. The boys were on cloud 9.   7th grade pulled out magic of their own with two separate amazing comebacks. They were down by double digits to 3D basketball and then clicked on all cylinders in the 2nd half to steal the game back. Then they did the same again in the late 8pm game vs the Dragons, winning by 5 after falling behind early by 9 points.   8th grade also put on a show with 3 straight wins, including a thrilling 59-55 victory over a tough CSA Velocity squad. The ball movement, team defense and outside shooting all came together. These boys had a balanced attack all season and shared fun team chemistry both on and off the court.   And of course 9th grade fought all weekend and all season. They pushed themselves to compete against elite competition, and rose to the occasion. As the Fierce program's oldest team and most tenured Fierce players, these boys continued to lead the way for all of the younger guys looking up to them.   We are proud of all of our players for their hard work!