On Saturday, March 16, 2024 - Max's All Stars reign as champions of the Full Court Charity Challenge corporate division came to an end...
We finally moved up to the open division. Our roster featured a few of our mainstay players - Kaheem Davis, Marvin Billups Jr, Spencer Smith, and William Davis; some old friends - David Seagers, Kevin Pegram, and Shaun Diaz; and a couple of new reinforcements - Christopher Egi, Elijah Brown, and Todd O'Brien. Max's All Stars got off to a rocky start. Things looked bleak early, but this team thrives with our backs against the wall. We lost the first game vs Century 21 Cityside (44-37), but bounced back to win the second game vs Skyhawks (33-23). The third game was back and forth, but ultimately BH - Commonwealth handed us a second loss in pool play (44-41). We had one pool play game left against the defending champions, SCS (who were also 1-2). It was win or go home for both of us. Max's All Stars was aggressive from jump and beat them easily (48-25). All we needed was an opportunity to keep playing, survive and advance. From there we beat Comella's in a short play-in game (8-3) and SLEP in OT in the quarterfinals (24-19). Elijah Brown hit a layup with time expiring to force OT vs SLEP. We had a relatively easy win in the semifinals vs Woody's (43-29), setting up a classic in the championship game vs Game Creek. Max's All Stars got off to a great start, but our 10-point lead eventually evaporated and it became a back and forth game again. It came down to who had the ball last. Tied at 35, Spencer Smith brought the ball up on the left side and found Christopher Egi who took his defender right to the basket for the easy layup as time expired! Different division, same result! Max's All Stars kept fighting and eventually, we prevailed!
Every time it appears that our story is complete, we add another chapter. This would not be possible without the love and support from our families and friends. As always, Bob Forlenza put together a tremendous tournament. It was so much fun! This event brings out the best in us every single year. Max's All Stars and ARTEMIS are proud to support Nashoba Learning Group and MGH Lurie Center for Autism. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to take part in this tournament. Thank you to everyone who attended - especially the family members of our players. We truly felt all the love and support. Also, thank you to ARTEMIS for sponsoring our team as well.
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| From left to right - Marvin Billups Jr, Christopher Egi, Spencer Smith, Kevin Pegram, Elijah Brown (MVP), Max and Jackie Margulis, Todd O'Brien, Shaun Diaz, David Seagers, Kaheem Davis (with KJ and Luka Davis), and William Davis |
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| From left to right - Kevin Pegram, Shaun Diaz, David Seagers, Christopher Egi, Max and Jackie Margulis, Todd O'Brien, Elijah Brown (MVP), Bob Forlenza, Marvin Billups Jr, Kaheem Davis (with KJ and Luka Davis), Spencer Smith, and William Davis |
