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Four Teams Remain In Running For The Basketball Tournament Championship, $1M Prize

Provided by TiqIQ

The Basketball Tournament is nearing its finale, which will take place over two days at Fordham University in New York City on August 1-2. Before The Tournament crowns its champion, though, there is still business to be taken care of, as four teams still remain. On the first day of August, the semifinals will take place, with a pair of No. 3 seeds, the Overseas Elite and Team City Of Gods, squaring off in one affair, while in the other semifinal matchup, it’s the No. 2-seeded Ants Alumni challenging Team 23, an unlikely No. 13 seed.

The popularity of this rising basketball tournament has, along with the the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, been one of the only two options for watching premier basketball at this point in the summer. For those looking at attend the semifinals in New York City, there is a get-in price of just $20 for seats on the baseline. In addition, bleacher tickets cost $30, chair back seats cost $50, and the priciest tickets courtside are going for $100. The Tournament Finals at Rose Hill Gym the following day feature the same ticket prices except for courtside seats, which will double in price just for this contest. By comparison, Fordham Rams college basketball tickets on TiqIQ averaged $58.62 last season.

With only four teams left in The Basketball Tournament, the best action is still yet to come. To reach the semis, the Ants, City Of God and Overseas Elite all won their respective games having to engage in a tug-of-war battle, while Team 23 has routed their most recent opponents. Against 7outs, their first game of the Super 17 regional, Team 23 boasted four players in double-figures, highlighted by David White, who distinguished himself from the pack. He led all scorers with a game-high 25 points, accompanied by Larry Owens, who chipped in 21 points, and as a team, Team 23 collectively shot an efficient 57 percent from the field.

In their second game, the same theme presented itself as Team 23 dismantled a LAUNFD team that was significantly shorthanded, enjoying a 77-56 win, led by White again, who reached double-figures once more with 18 points.

Despite their encouraging success, Team 23 will have their hands full against the Ants, a team comprised of several players from the NBA D-League Fort Wayne Ants who reached back-to-back Finals the past two seasons. They even won it all in 2014 and that winning culture and experience has been on display throughout the tournament. Most impressively, the Ants took down the defending TBT champs, the Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, in the first round of the Super 17, 89-84, which needed an extra session just to decide the victor. The Fighting Alumni were one of the favorites in the tournament.

The other matchup on tap, meanwhile, is just as good. City of God possesses five former NBA players in DerMarr Johnson, Mike Sweetney, Xavier Silas, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Hamady Ndiaye, while the Overseas Elite squad presents a bevy of familiar NCAA faces and some former local collegiate stars. DJ Kennedy and Paris Horne both starred at St. John’s from 2007-11, which translates to instant chemistry on the court, and Myck Kabongo is a talented point guard representing Toronto who played his collegiate ball at Texas.

Without question, there are plenty of reasons to tune into the semifinals of The Basketball Tournament, when the action first tips off on August 1. With so many familiar faces still remaining, and the $1 million prize at stake, there should absolutely be some quality basketball action for fans to take in, whether you’re watching it on ESPN or at Fordham University.

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