Club league title game reheats competitive fires

It was not exactly Game 7 of the Cavaliers-Warriors NBA Finals, or last March’s Villanova-North Carolina showdown in the NCAA Tournament championship game, but there was a basketball title decided Feb. 14 on HealthFit’s hardwood.

It was a SoCo Club Sport recreation title. It may seem silly, but there is a pure quality about rec sports that I find interesting. Those athletes are playing for nothing but pride, but the intensity on the court during rec playoff games is incredibly high. They play because they love playing, and it’s a chance to see their friends before heading home and prepping for their 9-to-5s in the morning.

In this case, it was a group of old friends called the TuneSquad (a nod to the 1990s kid’s favorite movie, "Space Jam") against players from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). The TuneSquad came in undefeated, including a 66-48 regular-season win over LECOM.

Most members of the TuneSquad have been friends for 10 years or more, playing basketball together the entire time, including Michael Vilches, Elijah Swabb and Luis Valenzuela. This club season, the team also picked up Matt Jones, whom they had spotted playing for another team that was not very good.

Vilches, the vocal leader of the team, said the guys mainly keep playing for exercise and fun, but the championship game featured some moments of tension, and it was easy to tell that everyone was giving everything.

The TuneSquad got off to a slow start, missing some shots and turning the ball over, and LECOM took advantage, jumping out to an early lead. They would come back, however. Midway through the first half, Jones went on a 7-0 scoring streak all by himself to give the team the lead. It would be extended, but LECOM managed to stick around, thanks to the TuneSquad’s sloppy play. Members of the team got frustrated with each other, and some in-fighting broke out.

“You wouldn’t know it by tonight, but our chemistry is actually really good,” Valenzuela said after the game.

Vilches went down with a leg injury with 5 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the game and his team clinging to a small lead. It seemed like dark times indeed for the TuneSquad, but when a rec league title is on the line, sometimes players can find an extra gear they did not know they (still) had. The team made its free throws, and with Vilches cheerleading from the bench, the TuneSquad walked off the court with a hard-fought 47-43 victory. Jones led the way with 16 points.

Everyone agreed that this was the team’s worst performance of the season. Ultimately, though, winning is all that matters, and members of the TuneSquad can now forever call themselves 2016 Tuesday Men’s Basketball fall champions.

In lieu of a trophy, the team all received mini Club Sport bags, which I suppose are more useful, if cheaper. Vilches said that in the team’s younger days, they would all go grab a drink after games, but now everyone goes home to their wives, kids or girlfriends. Occasionally, they will throw a team dinner at Valenzuela’s Peruvian restaurant, Brasa & Pisco.

There was still one more surprise waiting for some members of the team: Jones is leaving after just one season to join another club. The move was happening regardless of the outcome of the title game. Valenzuela had no idea until Jones mentioned it postgame.

“You’re so Kevin Durant right now!” Valenzuela said to him, playfully incredulous.

“I’m going to go get $250 million,” Jones responded.

The whole team laughed.

Maybe this had more in common with the NBA than I thought.