VBL 2012 FINALS - BEACH WARRIORS ARE THE NEW CHAMPIONS!

The Mean Ones were no match to the fully squaded Beach Warriors led my Chosen One, Mute and Jett Blue who were dunking all over the place. Not only did they win by over 20 pts but they won with swag and class landing 18 dunks, the ball was moving and everyone did their thing. Thor completely shut the Beast and proved to be one of the most dominant big men in the VBL.Special thanks to Ballin 4 Peace and the Godfather of streetball Ken Hicks for collaborating on this historical eventOur New host Sarah wrote about her experience in the VBL. We are so glad she joined the VBL family.My Experience with the VBLThe Venice Basketball League playoffs were quite the experience. I attended the Semi-finals in Hollywood, expecting to meet the people involved and watch some street basketball.Upon my arrival, however, I was asked if I wanted to do some reporting. Feeling nervous, Idecided to get in front of the camera anyways and interview some of the athletes.I was really impressed with the way the athletes treated me. Here I was, a new girl whodidn’t know any of their names or statistics, and not a whole lot of knowledge about basketballfor that matter. However despite all of that, I felt so welcomed and respected by everyone in theleague. These guys play ball with so much passion and athleticism. It was entertaining watchingthese athletes play basketball simply because of their love for the game.After an eventful evening in Hollywood, I decided to return to the VBL and report for thechampionship game in Venice. The guys were all excited and had so much energy. They hadplayed hard all summer to get to this very game. Everyone was really positive and knew thatthey’d have to play better than the other team to become the VBL Champions. The stands werefull of fans and it was a very exciting experience for me. Cliché or not, I felt special being a partIn the end, the Beach Warriors outplayed the Mean Ones, becoming the summer2012 VBL Champions. 21 year old A.J., The Chosen One, was selected as the tournament’sMVP. Following the game, former VBL athletes were inducted into the VBL Hall of Fame,and fans were thoroughly impressed by Stretch, who won the jumping contest by reaching 12feet. Overall, it was a great day at Venice Beach with hot weather, cool people, and of course,awesome basketball. I had a lot of fun reporting for the league. I truly enjoyed interviewing theathletes and working with everyone involved. Thank you for a wonderful experience.-Sarah ValentiPhotos by Emarie follow her @Emariemaie