Altadena's Zachary Smalley Helps Lead LBBA To Title

The Long Beach Basketball Academy 13-under AAU squad wasn't the biggest team in the California State Games. Not by a long shot.

But while LBBA only had one player taller than 6-feet, they stormed through the five-game tournament nonetheless. Led by Altadena's Zachary Smalley (son of Muir head boys basketball coach Dr. Gamal Smalley) LBBA won all five of its games by double digits, topping teams with players listed at 6-foot-9 (Trevor Stanback of the RC Bulls) and 6-foot-5.

“Speed kills," Gamal Smalley said. "We had a lot of quickness. Quick and aggressive, and that seemed to be the order of the day. Just blocked out real well, played real good defensively. Skill wise our kids are very good skill wise. Everyone can go right, everyone can go left.”

LBBA's toughest game came in the semifinals against the RC Bulls of Rancho Cucamonga. At one point LBBA trailed by as many as 13 points, but they soon amped up the ball pressure and surged ahead to another double digit win.

LBBA then topped the San Diego Magic to claim the national title.

"It was a rewarding experience meeting players and families from all over the nation," Smalley wrote in an email. "In the opening ceremonies (at Qualcomm Stadium) Navy Seals parachuted from the sky while the crowd of around 30,000 cheered USA. It gave us goose bumps."