The Adidas Gauntlet put a new twist on their circuit for the 2019 season. They continued with 3 spots; but in April, you needed to finish in the top 3 (out of 5) in your pool to maintain your Platinum status for Indianapolis. If you didn’t, you were bumped down to Gold and would have to win your way back in for the Finale in Atlanta.
The result of this change created a system in which there was no champion in Texas this April, but no division standings either. Teams just needed to win in order to maintain their Platinum status, and to start to build their resume for their seeds to the Finale.
To recap, the Platinum started out with 40 teams in Dallas. This went down to only 24 teams for Indy. For the Finale in Atlanta, it was back up to 32 teams based on Gold finishes in Indy.
When the dust settled, Indiana Elite-Marlin came home with the Platinum Championship in Atlanta. They also won their pool in Texas and made the semi’s in Indy.
Results for all the stops below:
Texas:
17U Pool Winners: All In Athletics, Minnesota Stars, Indiana Elite, Arizona Elite, NW Blazers, Books & Basketball, Cincinnati Angels, Texas Elite
Indianapolis:
Platinum:
Champions: CBC Elite
Runners Up: NE CSS Bison
Semi-Finalists: Indiana Elite; Texas Elite
Gold (top 8 qualified for Platinum Finale):
Champions: JBS 2021
Runners Up: Always 100
3rd: Della Lamb
4th: Team Loaded
Also Qualifying: NY Gauchos; Bluff City; Peninsula Elite; MBA Select
Atlanta (Finale):
Champions: Indiana Elite
Runners Up: Northwest Blazers
3rd: Arizona Elite
4th: Texas Elite
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