Team of Triumph

LAKEWOOD RANCH — As a sixth-grader, Brock Sisson sat on the bench, waiting for his chance on the court.

With hopes of playing more, he welcomed the chance to play on another team, the Sarasota Gators. But the team’s players came with a variety of skills and playing styles. It was pickup basketball, at best.

“It was just a free-for-all,” Sisson says of that first practice. “We were basically playing street ball. We basically were just hoping we did well.”

About a year later, the team started to come together. Since then, the team, now the Manatee Basketball Club, has become one of the area’s top travel basketball teams.

During the past two years, the MBC Elite ninth-grade boys basketball team has won about 81% of its games, finishing as both the state and national runners-up.

Last weekend, the team faced its toughest challenge of the year when it returned to the AAU National Championships, in Little Rock, Ark., looking to capture its first national championship.

Known for its stout defensive pressure and ability to hold its opponents to under 40 points per game, MBC Elite scored down the stretch in its final two games of the tournament, finishing with a perfect 7-0 to win its first national title.

MBC Elite defeated College Park Express (45-41), Eastern Shore Athletics (77-46), Gosh Warriors (72-57), Southern Bayou Flames (55-39), Sand Hill Warriors (61-48) and Dream Team Elite (32-28) to advance to the championship game.

In the championship, MBC Elite held on to defeat the Atlanta Celtics 44-39. Sisson finished with 16, including four 3-pointers, to lead the way for MBC Elite. Blauvelt Georges added a pair of 3-pointers. Sam Hester and Devin Twenty also provided offensive support.

Justin Muscara, Jack Kelley, Kodey Elliott and Deoni Cason provided stiff defensive pressure throughout the tournament.

It was a fitting end for a team that lost a state title last month by a single point.

“It’s awesome to have everyone around here know that we are national champs,” Sisson says.

Having played for a national title last season, the Elite entered this year’s tournament with the mindset that they were capable of winning it all.

“We (thought) we had a legitimate shot to win based on our performance and the experiences we’ve been through,” assistant coach Ken Sisson says. “We just (wanted) them to enjoy themselves because, at the end of the day, it’s still a game.”

In addition to playing for MBC Elite, all of the players, except two, play for Lakewood Ranch High. One player attends Braden River, and another goes to Cardinal Mooney.

“We’ve been together for so long that we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Brock Sisson says. “We’re all willing to fight for (something), and everyone likes everyone.”

Last season, three athletes played for the Mustangs varsity squad as freshmen while the remainder played junior varsity for their respective schools.

“The neat thing is just seeing the friendships among themselves,” Ken Sisson says. “There’s a great camaraderie both on and off the basketball court. It’s been fun to be able to watch them grow and become young men and good kids. We’re really proud of them.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].