The boys 15U championship brought together Team Loaded VA — undefeated on the AAU circuit this spring and summer — and the New York Gauchos. And in every way the action in Orlando, Florida, lived up to its billing as a battle for the crown.

With a vintage Gauchos team — undersized, pressing, relentless — and a 6-foot-9, 6-11-fronted Team Loaded VA — led by a pair of savvy guards in Jason Nelson and A.J. Williams (who won a Virginia state championship playing together at Varina High School this year as freshmen) — it was a clash of styles that came down to the finish.

Gauchos point guard Malachi Smith (St. Raymond High School for Boys, the Bronx), a penetrating, drive-and-dish playmaker, was masterful all game. After Team Loaded VA took an early lead — playing an inside-outside game with Nelson and 6-11 Efton Reid (the Steward School, Richmond) and 6-9 Roosevelt Wheeler (Marshall High School, Richmond) — Smith drove twice to find teammates for baskets for the Gauchos, who, despite giving up a massive height advantage, were able to stay to within 32-28 at the half.

Nelson, a precocious point guard who directed traffic all game (Team Loaded 15's floor-coach Brandon Jones calls him "The Closer"), helped Team Loaded VA open up a 39-30 lead after the half, involving his teammates and finding open looks. Team Loaded VA used successive free throws by Wheeler, Reid for a 44-40 lead with 5:38 to play.

But the Gauchos were not through. They tied the game at 44-44 on a drive. Then, following a forced steal and a free throw, tied it again at 47-47 with 1:29 to play. 

They swarmed Team Loaded VA's guards and it was only when A.J. Williams hit a top-of-the-key three-pointer with 1:08 to play (Nelson found him for the open look) that Team Loaded could breathe, with a 50-47 lead. That three proved decisive as Team Loaded VA won, 56-51.

On the Adidas Gauntlet circuit, Team Loaded's 15's have shown poise in accumulating a 36-0 record. According to Team Loaded VA's Vice-President, Kevin Bettis, it's been a byproduct of preparation.

"The staff does an amazing job preparing these kids," Bettis said. "They have a college-type system with film-study and scouting."

For Richmond native Brandon Jones, Team Loaded VA's in-game coach (Rodney Gore handles all pre-game preparations), it's been quite a journey. Originally a player at Jarvis Christian (TX) College and Valor Christian College, youth ministering called Jones away from the game as a player. But with Team Loaded VA, the 32-year-old seems to have found his way back.

"Originally I went from the game to youth ministry," Jones said. "I started coaching when I was in Ohio, in Columbus (in 2008), and I decided to come back to Richmond.

"I wanted to be there for the kids, along with their parents, because not all of them have parents."

Culled largely from the Richmond area, where Jones has coached at the Millwood School for the past three years (he's weighing two other high-school coaching jobs at the moment), Team Loaded 15's players have melded together seamlessly. 

"I think the reason we're 30-something-and-0 is because (Jason Nelson) has made everyone happy," Jones said.

The championship game suggested nothing differently. Against a relentless opponent, Jones' guards, Nelson, Williams and 6-2 Mike Gray, who's bound for the Blue Ridge School (VA) this school year, Team Loaded VA, withstood the pressure, as they've done all year.

For Jones, it'll be something to miss.

"I'll be a little sad at the end of the summer circuit, because then they'll move on," Jones said. "They're such a joy to coach."

Brian Towey is a Queens, New York-based writer covering basketball and track and field. He can be reached at bc_towey@yahoo.com and @BcTowey.