When overtime led to sudden death in the championship game for the Burgo Basketball AAU high school team, Coach Abbie Hurley advised them to “leave the paint open,” giving them the most chance to score a three-pointer that would win them the game. 

Hurley said after a layup from the opposing team, Lucas Guerra “looked at me in the huddle and was like, ‘Coach, I want the shot.’” Guerra had been sick, like many of the boys on the team, struggling with allergies and colds as the seasons change. 

Additionally having missed the prior game due to Homecoming, Guerra wanted his redemption. 

And when Guerra finished the game with a three-pointer, the boys found themselves 4-0 for the Oct. 19 weekend. 

“We went into this with a little bit of nerves because our last weekend wasn’t so hot,” Hurley said. “We had four practices before it and it really shows that these kids didn’t like getting their bums handed to them that prior weekend.”

She added, “Everything flowed — they really clicked as a team — looking for unselfish passes instead of a bucket. … Our defense was unbelievable.”

Hurley said with this being a fresh team, building team chemistry can be tricky, but their hard work has paid off. 

“Seeing the smiles on their faces — for a coach, it makes everything worth it.”

The boys headed to their final tournament over the Nov. 2 weekend, but they weren’t the only champions coming off of a win. 

The sixth-grade team also found themselves 4-0 in October and are bringing home “The Belt” from the most recent November competition.

Though he couldn’t be there for the championship in person due to his duties at the election office in New Bedford, Coach Manny DeBrito said the kids have had a great season.

He said there were a lot of new kids that came in during the fall and typically it takes time to build chemistry, but this group seemed to click pretty quickly.

Coaching for the last two decades, DeBrito said his coaching philosophy is to be the “best teammate you can,” which means having a positive attitude and caring for others on the team in addition to themselves.

He added he’s trying to get the kids ready not only for high school, but also for life. 

“There’s a lot of teachable moments and it’s a way for someone like me — I consider myself more of a mentor than a coach — to get in these kids’ lives and help families and parents out through basketball,” DeBrito said.

Steve Burgo, president of the Burgo Basketball Association, said, the teams “always [got] to the cusp of championship and either lost in the playoff or the game before.”

“But they had a phenomenal weekend,” he said, adding how the Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, teams are overall doing well this season. 

Burgo said in their first year at the association, the eighth-grade girls won their first game during the October competition: “I’m very proud of them.”

He said of course everyone wants a championship, but “they did well and that’s all that matters.”