After struggling at times during the early portion of the boys basketball season, the Arlington Aces played their best as games progressed — and won a championship as a result.
The Arlington Travel Basketball sixth-grade Division 2 squad won the season-ending Fairfax County Youth Basketball League tournament title with a 3-0 record.
The Aces defeated Braddock Road, 51-41, in the first round; nipped Chantilly, 39-37, in the semifinals; then routed Gainesville, 43-21, in the final.
The squad finished with a 14-3 overall record.
“The team was a great group of kids from various middle schools around Arlington. They really came together over the course of the season to defeat teams we lost to earlier in the year, especially a tough Chantilly team,” Aces head coach Ben Urbanski said.
Players were Andrew Bentson, Sebastian De Pace, Brooks Douglas, Sean Escudero, Khuslen Manduul, Micah Pollack, Carlos Ramirez, Jack Schmotzer, Jackson Williams and Wade Williams.
Jackson Williams was chosen as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Selected as all-league players were Manduul and Wade Williams.
Brian Tanenbaum was another coach.
For Urbanski as a coach, the Fairfax title was his first for an Arlington Travel Basketball team. He began coaching in the league in 2018. One of his previous Arlington teams finished second in a Fairfax League tourney final.
This season was Urbanski’s last with the Arlington league; he has moved out of the area.
