Coral Springs Basketball Club wraps up fall season with championships
With his team down by 15 points early in the championship game, and a perfect 12-0 season hinging on a comeback, Coral Springs’ Michael Taglienti proved more than up to the challenge.
Taglienti, 14, led the Stack Attack with a game-high 22 points, including 13 points during a rally blitz from a 23-8 deficit in the first half, in a 53-44 win over the Blue Lightning in the Coral Springs Basketball Club Senior Boys Junior Varsity Division title clash at the Coral Springs Gymnasium.
Taglienti, a freshman at Coral Springs Charter School, dropped back-toback threes to put his team ahead for good at 28-25 with just under two minutes remaining before the intermission. The Stack Attack closed out the first half on a 22-4 run.
“It is a very fast-paced game and I like that you always have that shot to win,” said Taglienti, who has played in the league for nine years. “There was a lot of pressure to go undefeated. We weren’t playing a lot of defense early and they were getting a lot of fast-break points. We were all over the place, so we just settled down.”
Stack Attack teammate Cyrus Klein, also 14, said the team had never faced a deficit all season like it did against the Lightning. Klein added 13 points, as did Noah Yehya. Klein is an eighthgrader at Coral Springs Middle School
“We started thinking about winning the championship after we won our first five games,” Klein said. “Even though we were losing, we were still confident.”
Coral Springs’ Ryan Ugalde had nine points in the first quarter as the Blue Lightning (7-5) jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead before eventually building up the 15-point margin. Ugalde is also in the eighth grade at Coral Springs Middle School.
“The league is pretty fun,” said Ugalde, 13. “I liked playing in the championship with the (DJ) music and the loud people in the crowd. It was a great atmosphere.”
The Lightning’s Adam Belden had 13 points, while Brian Rubino Jr., added 12 points to go along with the nine-point effort by Ugalde.
In other championship games, the Orange Fireballs received an 11-point performance from Michael Burgess to achieve a 35-29 win over the Purple Warriors in the Senior Intermediate Boys Division. Tyrese Robinson paced the Warriors. Meanwhile, Sophia Cleter poured in a gamehigh 22 points as the Blue Bombers won the Intermediate Girls Division crown with a 33-22 win over the Pink Ballers. Katelynn McCullough had nine points for the Pink Ballers.
In the High School Boys Division, the Mean Machine picked up a 62-48 victory as Jacob Kelly scored 18 points. Dylan Crouch came through with 20 points for the runners-up.
SportsCom5@aol.com — Michael Taglienti, Sack Attack player