Bowling Green (Kentucky) – Bowling Green High School was buzzing with basketballs over the weekend, as twelve teams gathered for the Grind Session’s Elevation Conference playoffs. When the final horn sounded, American Collegiate Academy's Balboa School from Florida and Legacy the School of Sport Sciences (SSS) from Texas earned spots in the upcoming Power Conference playoffs, which will be held March 13-15 / March 21-22 also in Kentucky.
Balboa has secured the number 12 seed in the Power Conference playoffs and will begin the single elimination tournament against fifth-seeded DME Academy from Florida. Legacy SSS enters as the fifteenth seed and is slated to compete with second-seeded Southeastern Prep, also from Florida.
Championship Game
Balboa School (FL) 61 vs. Legacy SSS (TX) 60
Lluc Pluvinet delivered an impressive performance with 18 points and nine rebounds, helping American Collegiate Academy's Balboa School secure a dramatic 61-60 win against Legacy the School of Sport Sciences in the Championship game.
Balboa (3-0) quickly took a 20-10 lead in the first quarter and was ahead 34-30 at halftime. In the final quarter, Legacy edged Balboa 21-16, highlighted by a crucial three-pointer from Hugo Facorat, which put Legacy up 60-59 with just 6.4 seconds left on the clock.
Balboa swiftly advanced the full length of the court without using a timeout, and Celestino Augusto delivered an impressive dunk, securing a 61-60 victory and the Elevation Conference championship trophy for the Bengals .
Augusto finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds while teammate Brian Cezalien added 12 points for Balboa.
Legacy SSS (3-1) was led by Aiden Clark with 17 points followed by Carlos Ojeda with 14 points. Facorat and Brodrick Wyatt II both finished with 12 points.
Semifinal Game #1
Legacy SSS (TX) 81 vs. Bethel Academy (VA) 74
Legacy the School of Sport Sciences demonstrated balanced scoring in the first semifinal game, with five players achieving double figures and securing an 81-74 victory over Bethel Sports Academy.
Legacy led 19-16 after the first quarter, with Bethel tying it at 35 by halftime. Legacy then outscored Bethel 46-39 in the second half to reach the championship game.
Carlos Ojeda recorded a double-double for Legacy, contributing 21 points and 10 rebounds. Aiden Clark added 20 points and seven rebounds. Stephen Agiddi posted 15 points, while Brodrick Wyatt II contributed 12 points and Hugo Facorat finished with 10 points.
Although Devin Toatley scored a game-high 40 points for Bethel, it was not enough for the team to reach the championship game.
Semifinal Game #2
Balboa School (FL) 49 vs. DME Wisconsin (WI) 35
American Collegiate Academy's Balboa School secured their spot in the championship following a defensive showdown against DME Academy at St. John's Northwestern, ending with a low score of 49-35.
Balboa managed to surpass DME (1-1) by scoring 13 points to their 7 in the second quarter, giving Balboa a narrow halftime advantage of 21-15. They maintained their lead throughout the game, ultimately winning by 14 points.
Lluc Pluvinet led all scorers with 12 points followed by Celestino Augusto with 10 points for Balboa.
DME Wisconsin’s top scorer was Elijah Milliner, who contributed eight points.
