The Slammers, a sixth grade boys NJB all-star team, was one of four Willow Glen teams to make the trip south for the competition. The weekend started with a trip to Disneyland, but then the four teams got down to the business of playing basketball.

The Slammers won their division with the boys sixth-grade All Net team third and the fourth grade boys and fourth grade girls both finishing fourth.

The sixth grade boys team, coached by Roy Ayala, C.J. Cali and Pat Rankin, won five straight games to take the national championship.

The boys opened the tourney with a tight 50-49 win over Cameron Park, a squad Ayala called one of the strongest teams there.

Willow Glen breezed past El Toro 49-37 to advance to the quarterfinals.

An early morning 56-37 victory over Tracy on Sunday sent the Slammers into the semifinals and they topped Las Vegas 63-51 later that day. Now the team that had to play out of the loser's bracket in the local tournament, defeating Morgan Hill twice for the right to go to Anaheim, found itself at center court in Garden Grove with everything on the line.

Their final opponent, Riverside East, gave the Slammers the fight of their lives. Offensive Most Valuable Player Ryan Cali was slow to warm up, and Riverside led most of the game. But the Willow Glen defense, led by Neerav Dixit, kept the locals close enough to tie it in the last few seconds of regulation play and send it into overtime.

The score seesawed back and forth, and again the Slammers tied it to force a double overtime. With emotions and adrenaline running high, Cali hit two three-pointers to bring the Slammers within a point, but a foul was sent Riverside to the line for a one-and-one.

The Riverside shooter missed, the Slammers got the rebound and fifth-grader Dennis Curtis sank what was to be the winning shot. Riverside tried to go inside but was rejected three times by Willow Glen. The buzzer sounded as the fourth shot went up and missed its mark. The Slammers posted the thrilling 68-67 victory.

Along with Cali and Dixit, members of the Willow Glen championship team included Nick Mingione, Dennis Curtis, Joshua Ayala, Yannick Garcia-Mercier, Ryan Prankin, A.J. VonMassenhausen, Ryan Sullivan and Christian Moreno.

The championship weekend capped a sensational season for the second-year Willow Glen NJB program. When asked what makes these NJB teams different from other leagues in the area, Ayala simply said, "It's the parents, they make all the difference; they are very involved and very supportive. We couldn't have come this far without them."

The Willow Glen sixth grade All Net team was coached by Bob Bustamante, the fourth grade boys were coached by Todd Meeker and the fourth grade girls were coached by Helen Gengras.

The NJB season runs from December to March, with postseason play into April. All teams play in the post season, with three separate levels for advanced, intermediate and beginning levels of players.

Parents foot the bill for the $230 fee (and travel expenses), which guarantees 50-percent playing time and includes uniforms, pictures and trophies. Financial help is available for players, says Ayala.

The Willow Glen NJB Chapter fields 12 teams, with ages from third eighth grade, encompassing area elementary and middle schools including: Willow Glen, St. Christopher's, Valley Christian and Dartmouth. For more information, check out their website at www.willowglennjb.com.