Pittsburgh basketball fans got an extra special and historic Black History Month championship game Sunday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.
Allderdice (16-8) defeated Obama (13-9) 71-70 in an exciting, entertaining and heartbreaking triple overtime game.
Defense wins championships and coach Buddy Valinsky and the Allderdice Dragons used “Buddy Ball” to slow down the Eagles and to force turnovers. It worked in the first half. The Dragons held Obama to only 17 points at halftime. The only problem is the Dragons only had 16 points.
The pace of the game picked up in the second half with 19 lead changes and eight ties and the Dragons were lucky to win their fourth consecutive City League title.
The game was sloppy, poor shooting, poor defense, poor clock management and questionable coaching decisions. But since the game resulted in three overtimes the impact will be greatly exaggerated. Even by the experts.
“This was the greatest city league game I’ve been to in years,” said Luther Dupree host of Steel City Sportsworld. “Jahi Ogbonna put his team on his back like a young Kobe Bryant. He told me that if his team lost, it would be with him shooting. The Mamba mentality.”
Dana Strothers, of Obama, led all scorers with 24 points. Coach Buddy Valinsky was pleased with his team’s effort and knows how talented the Eagles are.
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