P N R takes home Real Deal championship

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.- The Pump N Run basketball squad hit a bump in the road in pool play on Saturday, but the Los Angeles-based club cruised through bracket play and cruised past Renardo Sidney and the LA Dream Team 73-57 in the finals. Leading the charge for the Pump N Run was tournament MVP Jrue Holiday.

The final game's outcome was really never in doubt as the lead wavered between five and 10 points most of the way before Pump N Run broke away towards the end,

The No. 2 ranked prospect in the Rivals150 for the class of 2008, Jrue Holiday had a game-high 20 points. A terrific all around player, Holiday controlled the point guard position down the stretch of both the semifinal and final game of the tournament. In the finals, he chipped in three assists and three rebounds.

2009 prospect Reeves Nelson finished off his impressive tournament run with a strong performance against the LA Dream Team. He scored 10 points and hauled down six man-sized rebounds. A physical specimen, Nelson ruthlessly attacked the rim for a couple dunks in traffic during one stretch of the second half. He consistently made physical plays for his squad.

Holiday's running mate in the backcourt Jerime Anderson also played very good basketball on Sunday. In the finals, he scored 19 points which included three three-pointers and dished out five assists. He did a fine job navigating the high-ball screen and took care of the ball while making sharp decisions throughout the game.

For the LA Dream Team Renardo Sidney was so impressive throughout the tournament that he received a "second place" MVP even though he didn't play his best basketball in the final game. It still wasn't that shabby of a game as he scored 17 points and collected six rebounds. But Sidney just didn't provide the energetic, dominating game that his team needed from him to win the championship game.

Travis Wear and David Wear, who were both coming off impressive offensive games against the Atlanta Celtics in the semifinals, just made a dent in the stats during the finals, but more impressive was their defensive effort against Sidney.

Also impressive throughout the tournament for the LA Dream were Malcolm Kirkland, Jalonni Diggs and Zach Payton.

Kirkland was a force on the boards throughout the tournament. He also showed flashes of a skill game with some nice post feeds from the high post and some scoring around the basket.

Diggs was the primary ball handler for La Dream Team and he also knocked down some timely jumpers against the zone.

Payton, who has recycled through the circuit while attempting to qualify academically, has drastically improved his conditioning and used his advanced strength to punish weaker guards in the lane. He also did a fine job as a secondary ball handler and consistently feed Sidney the ball inside.

Lastly, Pump N Run power forward Victor Davila ended a solid weekend of play with nine points and four rebounds in the championship game.