Del Mar’s Intramural Sports hosted the first 1 on 1 basketball tournament of the spring semester on Wednesday, March 19in the Heritage Campus gym. Games ran for nine minutes or until one player reached 11 points, with shots being tallied as one and two points rather than two and three.

In the first round of games Timothy Hernandez outplayed Jesus XXXXXX with his speed and shot-making ability to win 11-4. On the other court Angelina Lopez drilled her first shot in a battle with Andres Rodela. After a slow start, Rodela found rhythm from beyond the arc to score in multiples and earn the win 11-7.

 Brandon Chapa faced off against Oscar Valenzuela in the next game. The score was back and forth in the first half, but Chapa’s relentless defense and hustle for rebounds gave him the edge as he won 6-2.

In one of the most fun matchups of the day, Josiah Voinov played a first round matchup against Dallas Owen. Owen was considerably taller giving him a theoretical edge over Voinov in 1 on 1 basketball. However, Voinov’s speed and ability to create space for quality shots allowed him to pressure Owen until the nine-minute time limit had been reached. Owen was forced to use his energy on defense early, and after the game he said that he felt as if his size was “no advantage at all against Josiah.” As time wound down, Owen showed more aggression on offense by driving hard into the paint to score and ensure victory, taking the game 9-7.

The second round featured the losing players facing off in elimination games while the winners were matched up with each other. The first elimination game saw Lopez dominate Jesus with an array of accurate shots in a 7-0 victory. On the other court Rodela and Hernandez went back and forth with impressive long-range shots in the winner’s bracket. Both players were locked in and determined to win, in the end it was a few bounces off the rim that went in favor of Rodela to make the difference in his 11-8 victory.

On the other side of the winner’s bracket Owen faced off against Chapa, whose hustle kept him in the game but also wore him out, allowing Owen to maintain the lead and take the win. Meanwhile, Voinov’s ability to maneuver and make shots powered him to a tough win in a back-and-forth elimination game against Valenzuela.

After these games Chapa and Voinov had to immediately faceoff in an elimination game. Both men were playing hard despite being exhausted and the game went back and forth down to the final shot. With the game tied at the buzzer, they agreed that the next to score would win. With the ball being in his possession, Voinov wasted no time driving to the basket and scoring the game winner on a right-handed layup.

Hernandez and Lopez, teammates in the previous intramural basketball championship now found themselves facing off against each other in an elimination game. Both players had gotten the hot hand in their last game and that success translated into this one. Lopez found herself driving to the basket more in this game, taking high quality shots to maintain a lead. Despite making multiple long-range shots to stay in it, Hernandez fell short of the win leading Lopez to her next elimination game against Voinov.

Stamina and defense would come into play as a big factor at this point in the tournament, as both competitors had lost their first game before staving off elimination multiple times in a short period of time. Voinov’s shot-making ability proved to be too much as he wound up victorious at the end of the time limit.

In the final game of unbeaten competitors, Owen matched up against Rodela. Both had their shots working but Owen’s size and speed were too much to handle as he powered through the paint for the winning basket, however due to personal reasons Owen had to leave shortly after this game. This prevented him from being able to compete in the championship game, leaving Rodela to take on Voinov in the final match.

This game was different than the others, as they would decide to play the first to 15 wins. Both were attacking with a mixture of long-range shots and tough finishes around the basket, however Rodela was warmed up from his previous game and tough to stop as he continuously made shots and put the pressure on Voinov to not miss. In the end, Rodela was victorious by a score of 15-11 to be crowned champion.

Intramural director Carla Gamez-Vela said that the students have enjoyed these tournaments and that not all competitors were able to make this one, so Intramural sports will host another 1 on 1 tournament at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 24.