{"id":107211,"date":"2015-07-18T08:05:29","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T15:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilcomprd.wpengine.com\/?p=107211"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:04:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:04:48","slug":"uaa-finals-set-canada-elite-looks-to-make-history-against-upset-minded-team-charlotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballislife.com\/uaa-finals-set-canada-elite-looks-to-make-history-against-upset-minded-team-charlotte\/","title":{"rendered":"Thon Maker & Marcus Ottey Lead Canada Elite To UAA Championship Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

It will be upstart Team Charlotte taking on Thon Maker and his teammates at Canada Elite for the 17U UAA championship on Saturday evening to complete the shoe-oriented championships for the 2015 grassroots season. The Under Armour Association will crown a new champion in 17U after defending champion We R1 was knocked out in the quarterfinals by D.C. Premier, which fell to Team Charlotte in the semifinals. Canada Elite advanced to the title game with a big win over a talented MWA Elite club on Friday night. Read below for full analysis!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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View my UAA Finals Recap No. 1 | Link<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

View my UAA Finals Recap No. 2 | Link<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

View my UAA Finals Recap No. 4 | Link<\/strong><\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

Motivation can come in many different forms and for 7-foot Thon Maker<\/strong> it was two-fold on Saturday. The international high school and grassroots basketball star was motivated to help Canada Elite advance to the Under Armour Association Finals<\/em> 17U championship game. He was also to eager to silence recent social media mentions that he may have been outplayed by fellow 2016 elite Josh Jackson<\/a> of 1 Nation and by an upstart -- Earl Watson Elite's Jayce Johnson<\/a> -- during earlier UAA games.<\/p>\n

Maker's Canada Elite team lost to EWE 67-57 in a showcase game on Thursday in which Maker went for 11 points and nine rebounds. He didn't play bad against Johnson, but did step it up with 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 69-57 win over Jackson's 1 Nation team. Based on tweets and reports, however, you would think Maker didn't come to play.<\/p>\n

Not true.<\/p>\n

Nothing silences critics and doubters more than winning and playing hard and that's exactly what Maker did on Friday in leading his team to Saturday's 6pm ET 17U title game. Maker was relentless on the glass against MWA Elite's big and powerful frontline and willed his team to a 59-52 semifinal victory. The most talked-about big man in the national 2016 class finished with 16 points and was credited with 10 rebounds. Battling the likes of MWA Elite's Jordy Tshimanga<\/strong> (6-10), Billy Preston<\/strong> (6-9) and powerful Mark Vita<\/strong>l (6-6), it seemed as if Maker had double that amount of rebounds. It's probably because he came with with so many second-effort caroms that resulted in getting fouled or with a field goal attempt for a teammate.<\/p>\n

A player who stepped up big-time for Canada Elite in Friday semifinals contest was 6-foot-2 guard Marcus Ottey<\/strong> of St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.). Ottey is an uncommitted 2016 prospect, but expect his offer count to grow after this NCAA viewing period as he is quick with the ball and explosive in the open court. With the game tied at 42-42 with just under seven minutes remaining, Ottey sparked a 12-0 run with two monster breakaway dunks (SEE VIDEO BELOW<\/em>) to help put the Dallas, Texas based MWA team away.<\/p>\n