Ranking Teams Based on Performance – Games I Attended 12/5-12/9

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note: This is not a ranking of how good the teams are, simply how well they played in these specific games</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12/5 - Highland vs Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12/7 - Albuquerque vs West Mesa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12/8 - Cleveland vs Santa Fe</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12/9 - Del Norte vs Manzano</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12/9 - Cibola vs Sandia</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1.</strong> <strong>Cleveland</strong> <strong>Storm - W 80-74 vs Santa Fe</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> Santa Fe is one of the premiere teams in the state, and Cleveland did their job to take this game in the final minutes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158654' first='Daniel' last='Steverson']</strong> was a beast on both ends of the floor, and has shown his first flashes of his potential for GPOY. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2. Highland Hornets - W 70-57 vs Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a potential 4A Final Four matchup, the Hornets came out firing on all cylinders against the Vikings. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687821' first='Jesus' last='Licon']</strong> led the offensive barrage, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295236' first='Raul' last='Stanford'] </strong>dished out the assists to lead Highland over a Vikings team hit with the injury-bug. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3. Albuquerque Bulldogs - W 53-47 vs West Mesa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one was a tight game until the end, but the Bulldogs made their free throws in crunch time to put it away. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679996' first='Isaiah' last='Maldonado']</strong> was clutch late in the game, and scored over half of Albuquerque's points to lead them to victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4. Sandia Matadors - W 66-52 vs Cibola</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sandia turned it around in the second half to complete a 14-point halftime comeback and secure the W against Cibola for the second time. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687823' first='Thomas' last='Adams']</strong> showed his versatility and ability to take over a game in leading his team to the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5. Del Norte Knights - W 53-51 vs Manzano</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Del Norte squeaked past the Monarchs in the final seconds with some clutch baskets from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717293' first='Julian' last='Castillo']</strong> in the last minute, and a solid shooting night from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717253' first='Francois' last='Satchivi']</strong> which kept the Knights with the momentum in the first half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6. Santa Fe Demons - L 74-80 vs Cleveland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Demons nearly completed the upset against the highly-ranked Storm. They couldn't pull it out in the end, but put up a valiant effort from tip-off. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1897845' first='Lukas' last='Turner']</strong> put on an offensive masterclass, showcasing his three-level scoring ability. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7. West Mesa Mustangs - L 47-53 vs Albuquerque</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs kept this one alive with their offensive rebounding and aggressive defense, though they couldn't make the shots they needed to come away with a win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1538638' first='Julian' last='Hernandez']</strong> almost ended with a double-double at the guard position in this one. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8. Manzano Monarchs - L 51-53 vs Del Norte</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Monarchs were 15 seconds away from winning this one, until they gave up a last second basket to lose by two in the end. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2368946' first='Shane' last='Erni'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1685469' first='Joaquin' last='Ramos']</strong> showed how dominant they can be on the glass, both coming away with double-digit rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9. Valley Vikings - L 57-70 vs Highland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings were shorthanded in this matchup, but regardless of their efforts, never looked in rhythm in this matchup. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1680001' first='Julian' last='Chavez'] </strong>and <strong>Diego Miscles-Rivera </strong>were able to show what they can do on the offensive end, with 13 points a piece. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10. Cibola Cougars - L 52-66 vs Sandia</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cibola's first half looked impeccable, but their second half was a complete implosion. Their potential should've landed them higher on this list, but they couldn't withstand Sandia's pressure. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1903316' first='Cole' last='Baca']</strong> led Cibola's offensive attack both with his aggressiveness and passing ability. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->