The Denver Harlequins came into the 20th USQRA National Championship ranked 3rd, based on their pre and post season play. The Harlequins' best previous finish was 5th in Division 1.
Friday, April 20th saw the Harlequins start out slowly in their opening game against the
Chicago Bears. After the first quarter, the Harlequins were trailing by a point. Things quickly changed and the Harlequins opened up a strong lead. Developing players
Josh Stapen,
Joy Rondeau,
Ron Bolseth and
David Benson finished out the game, 55-37. In the afternoon, we faced the
University of Arizona Wildcats in their first ever Division 1 appearance at Nationals. Again, the entire bench had playing time, winning comfortably 48-38.
On Saturday,April 21stthe competition was stepped up, playing against defending champions,
Phoenix Heat. The Harlequins played strongly in the first quarter, but in the second quarter the momentum favored the
Heat. At half-time, the
Harlequins were down by 4 points. Playing smart, the
Harlequins backed off in the fourth quarter, saving their strength for the next game.
Each division at Nationals contains eight teams, divided into two pools of four teams each. The first three games are against the members of your pool. Our pool played as expected. Division 1, pool B went anything but expected. The #4 seeded
Portland Pounders beat #2 seeded
Lakeshore Demolition. Our fourth match pitted us against the
Pounders. The
Pounders were unable to put their speed to good use against the strong defense of the
Harlequins. Pressing in the backcourt caused several turnovers by the
Pounders, leading to a 47-42 victory.
The stage was now set for the
Harlequins' first-ever finals appearance. Our rival were the
Lakeshore Demolition, who have appeared in the last ten final matchups and the National champions for five years.
Lakeshore won the tipoff, but like the game against
Portland, strong pressure in the backcourt caused numerous turnovers.
Lakeshore tried two different lineups, but could not figure out how to defeat the strong
Harlequin defense. At halftime, the
Harlequins were up by five points. A few turnovers in the third quarter threatened to rattle the composure of the
Harlequins. After settling down, the
Harlequins played strongly in the final quarter. Emotions were running high as the final seconds ticked down. The buzzer rang giving the
Harlequins their first ever National Championship, winning 47-45. High-fives, hugs and smiles all around as we received the coveted Mikkelson Cup.
In addition to winning the National Championship, the
Harlequins dominated the All Tournament Team awards.
Jason Regier won best 0.5 class;
Adam Scaturro best 1.5;
Ross Morrison best 2.5; and
Chance Sumner winning the tournament MVP.
Way to go
Harlequins!