Rec Basketball Season Ends in Breathtaking Fashion

The Mountainside Recreation Department sponsors an annual finalsfest tournament for both the boys and girls 6th through 8th grade basketball leagues, and the championship games lived up to expectations.

With four girls teams competing and ten boys teams competing, the 2011 tournament was one of the most competitive in Mountainside history.

The final round of the girls tournament was a matchup between the top-ranked Knicks, coached by Mayor Paul Mirabelli, and the # 2 Sixers, coached by Dom Sforza, two teams quite familiar with one another.

The teams met three times in the regular season, with the Knicks coming out on top at each meeting. However, on Saturday the Sixers upset the Knicks 22-12 to win the finalfest tournament.

The final round of the boys' tournament was a highly anticipated matchup between the top-seeded Bulls and the #2 Bobcats. The Bobcats had to get by the 7th-seeded Bucks and the 3rd-seeded Lakers to make it to the final round. The Bobcats, coached by Carl DeFronzo, won each of these games by two points or less.

The Bulls, coached by Tom Ellenberger, had a bumpy road to the finals as well. While they were able to get by the 8th-seeded Celtics without much of a problem, the 4th-seeded Magic, coached by Rich Wills, gave the team a scare. The Bulls were able to pull out the victory in the last thirty seconds.

The Bobcats and Bulls were meeting for the first time this season. In a close matchup the Bulls came out on top 30-28, and remain undefeated on the season.