Claremont 8th grade boys and girls play in semi final of Junior Warriors Oakland basketball league
Claremont’s girls basketball team which contains a combination sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls only lost won game heading into Saturday’s semi final match against GSP. The lady Knights lone season loss was to Edna Brewer. However, the Knights didn’t have to face Edna Brewer in the playoffs.
GSP showed up to play but were clearly outmatched by Claremont’s guard play and precision passing.
Claremont’s size hurt GPS on the defensive end of the court as they were unable to prevent Center Wonaye Luckett from grabbing rebounds. The lady Knights went on to win 55-11 and advanced to the championship game to play Montera.
The girls championship game between Claremont and Montera was definitely worth the price of admission $ 5. Both ball clubs fought hard from the initial tip to the final buzzer. Each team was evenly matched from the guards to the bigs. Montera relied heavily on their ability to drive into the lane for high percentage shots such a layups. Claremont scored using a mixture of outside shooting and driving to the basket for layups. There were several plays where each team saw two or more players diving on the floor for loose balls. On the very first play of the game one of Claremonts players dove for a loose ball and cut her chin open. Luckily she was able to finish playing with bandaids on her chin to temporarily stop the bleeding.
The Lady knights went on to win 35-31 to capture the 2019 Junior warriors girls league championship trophy. Coach Doubley who coaches both the 8th grade boys and girls basketball teams is no stranger to winning championships. Last year his 8th grade boys team took home the 2018 Junior Warriors basketball championship trophy.
Claremont’s 8th grade boys basketball team faced Montera in their semi final matchup. During the regular season Claremont loss both meeting to Montera. The first game was rather close 39-32. However, the second meeting didn’t go so well for the Knights they loss by a whopping 33 points 66-36. They say third times a charm will Claremont finally win against Montera when it matters most?
Claremont started Saturdays semi final game against Montera slow allowing Montera to lead early 12-0. Eventually Claremont’s starting point guard Saad Waqia made a couple of three point shots and two point jumpshot to cut into the deficit. Other players such as Anthony Belinsky and Justin contributed on the offensive end to inch Claremont closer who was losing by 5 at halftime 19-14. The second half yielded turnovers and lapses on defense by Claremont which lead to more points for Montera. Montera proved during thhe regular season and in the playoffs to be the better team winning 42-31. The hope of Claremont’s 8th grade boys team repeating as champs is over. Perhaps next year coach Doubley can bring back two championships to Claremont Middle school.
