Magic Three-Peat in Las Vegas

Last week at the And 1 Las Vegas Summer Classic Basketball Tournament, the NorCal Magic won their 3rd consecutive National Championship.  Keith Wilright (Oak Tech) was named MVP and Will Bonner (Bishop O'Dowd) was named to the All Tournament Team.    The Magic were glad to have James Akinjo (McClymonds) who scored 36 pts. in game one and made 10 three pointers.  That tied a Magic record held by Eddie House (Miami Heat) in '96 as The Magic defeated the Las Vegas Rebels 93-69.  In game two against Maryland whom they defeated 84-63 it was Antonio Williams-Parker's (Oak) turn scoring 26 pts, while hitting 4 three pointers, Akinjo and Shawn Broadnax (San Leandro) both scored 16 pts.  In game three Wilright scored 40 pts as The Magic defeated new Mexico 94-74 with rebounding and scoring help from Tremaine Davis (Pittsburg) 10 pts, Bonner, 12 pts, and Williams-Parker 10 pts.  In the semi-finals The Magic defeated Bishop Gorman of Henderson, Nevada, the State Champions, 94-77.  The Magic won with balanced scoring and strong Rebounding by Wilright (13 Pts), Bonner (11 pts), Broadnax (12 pts), Davis (10 pts) and Ryan Madry of Bishop O'Dowd (10 pts).  In the Championship game The Magic faced the San Francisco Heat, a tough team that employed a 2/3 zone against The Magic that kept them in the game until the final minutes, but The Magic prevailed over the Heat 72-58 with some big time play from Bonner (18 pts) and Wilright (16 pts) and Broadnax (11 pts).   At one point, the game had to be stopped as Tremaine Davis leaped over a player about 5'11 to finish a fantastic dunk, that and Jamar "Peanut" Jordan's fantastic penetration against that zone pushed The Magic over the top.  The crowd spilled onto the court after Davis' dunk and the game had to be stopped to restore order.   The Magic and Coach Capus Hope did an outstanding job in bringing the Championship home.  Other Magic Players were Cheo White (Newark Memorial), Mike Gates (Pinole Valley), Ruben Lewis (Pinole Valley) and Peanut Jordan a League MVP from Green Valley in Las Vegas.

August 9, 2000