The 2016 Rugby Rave Tournament has come to an end with some amazing team and individual achievements. The tournament started Thursday with tough competition and hard hits, which left the Portland Pounders, British Columbia, the Minnesota Steelheads, and the Sharp Edge competing for the 3rd place spot. The Ability360 Phoenix Heat showed domination on Thursday winning games against the Portland Pounders and the At Large team.
Pool play continued, Friday afternoon with wins for the Portland Pounders, Tucson Renegades, Minnesota Steelheads, and the Ability360 Heat who defeated the London Annihilators, the Canadian team who brought an upset to the Heat in November in San Diego.
The Heat headed into Saturday’s championship competition with an undefeated record and eyes set on another first place title, as they faced the Tucson Renegades, a team they met often in championship matches, with repeated victories. With 8 former, current, and hopefully Paralympic athletes taking to the court, the show was going to be tense. The competition was nothing less than fierce as the time ticked off the clock. As the final buzzer went off, the Ability360 Heat were unable to again bring down the Renegades, falling to Tucson 45-52. With humble hearts, the Ability360 Heat took their 2nd place standing and congratulated the victors.
As the tournament came to a close, the team standings ended with:
1st Place- Tucson Renegades
2nd Place- Ability360 Phoenix Heat
3rd Place- London Annihilators
4th place- Minnesota Steelheads
5th place- British Columbia
6th place- Sharp Edge
7th place- Portland Pounders
8th place- At Large
Congratulations to the following players on their individual achievements of best in class:
Class .5 – Jason Regier from Sharp
Class 1.0 – Trevor Hirschfield from BC
Class 1.5 – Adam Scaturro from Tucson
Class 2.0 – Nick Springer from Ability360 Phoenix Heat
Class 2.5 – Josh Wheeler from Tucson Renegades
Class 3.0 – Fabian from British Columbia
Class 3.5 – Chuck Aoki from Minnesota
MVP – Scott Hogsett Ability360 Phoenix Heat
Game scores:
1. London- 58, At Large- 13
2. Heat- 53, Portland- 33
3. Tucson- 56, Minnesota- 51
4. British Columbia- 51, Sharp- 45 5. London- WIN, Portland- Forfeit
6. Heat- 46, At Large- 34
7. British Columbia- 51, Minnesota- 58
8. Tucson- 55, Sharp- 46
9. Portland- 56, At Large- 31
10. Minnesota- 53, Sharp- 50
11. British Columbia- 38, Tucson- 53
12. London- 46, Heat- 53
13. Portland- 35, Sharp- 54
14. British Columbia- 51, At Large- 28
15. Heat- 55, Minnesota- 43
16. Tucson- 53, London- 46
17. Portland- WIN, At Large- Forfeit
18. Sharp- 49, British Columbia- 52
19. Minnesota- 40, London- 59
20. Heat- 45, Tucson- 52