[SPRINGFIELD, MO] About two weeks ago, the PCA Paladins participated in the annual NCHBC tournament, where homeschool teams from all over the U.S. come together for a week competing for the title “National Champions.” PCA brought four teams with them: 18U and 16U boys, and 16U and 14U girls. Each team competed well and ended their season strong.
18U boys competed in Division 2, containing the 17-32 seeds in the nation. They began their week facing the Victoria Cobras, defeating them 69-55. Later that evening, they defeated the Benton Bucks 70-51. The next day they found themselves in a tight shoot-out against the Lincoln Eagles. This was a hard-fought game, but PCA took the win 81-70. With these wins, the Paladins were on their way to a gold ball game against the Missouri Rush. This game went back and forth with momentum shifting either way until PCA took it away late, winning 55-51. With this win, PCA became the D2 Class 5A Gold Ball champions. The next day the Paladins had their toughest challenge yet, facing the FEAST Patriots in the Gold Ball Showdown Series semifinal game. This too was a high intensity game, going back and forth, but PCA again was able to push through and get the win 58-55. This brought them to the championship game versus the Manhattan CHIEF Thunder. This was the closest game yet, going into triple OT! Despite PCA’s valiant effort, the Thunder took the win 71-64. The Paladins ended up 18th overall in the nation, and with an outstanding record of 35-10.
16U boys were 25-3 coming into the tournament. They competed in Division 1, which consisted of the top 16 teams in the nation. They started their week with a solid win against the Columbus Hawks 54-47. The next day they followed it up with a very impressive win over the Little Rock Flames 43-39. Later that night, however, they struggled against the CHSA Wolverines, taking a loss 33-58. They were unable to adjust and ended up losing their next three games, finishing 8th overall in the nation, and with a solid record of 28-7.
16U girls started their week with a tough loss to the FBCHA Eagles 26-29. They then went 4-0 the rest of their week, winning their bracket. They ended the season 17-9, finishing 9th overall out of 20 16U girls teams. 14U girls struggled at first but finished strong with a win. They ended up with a record of 3-3.
The PCA Paladins had a successful season, but sadly it’s all over for now. Like my good friend Hank says, “Don’t these tears fool you, it’s all dog in this mug!”
