LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- D.C. Team Takeover, a recently formed summer club basketball team, is aptly named.
The etymology is simple:
Team emphasizes the balance throughout the lineup. Takeover, well, that was self-explanatory Monday night.
Spreading the scoring among nine players, including two in double figures, Takeover raced to an early lead and defeated Each One, Teach One/Team Stat of Florida 66-57 to win the AAU Super Showcase U17 Gold Division presented by Champion final before 1,600 people at the Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.
Even an all-out effort from super junior guard Austin Rivers of Team Stat -- a game-high 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting and four rebounds -- could not offset the kaleidoscope of athletic scorers.
"Austin is one of the best players in the nation," Takeover's Jerian Grant said. "Coach [Keith Stephens] told us Austin will get his points, but don't let the others beat you."
Team Stat nearly did.
When the Florida team crept to within nine points late in the fourth, however, Takeover slowed the pace, stressing patience.
"We can do it all; run and slow it," Grant said.
Takeover made quite an impression in their initial visit to the AAU tournament. A bulk of the core played last year for D.C. Triple Threat. When the players split, forming a second team, Takeover was added to the Nike travel team family.
Grant, an undecided 6-foot-5 rising senior from DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), scored 15 points, and forward Michael Gbinije added 14.
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Austin Rivers notched 25 points in a losing effort against Team Takeover.
"We stress good team play," Gbinije said. "Everyone puts their egos aside for the team. With our high school teams, we're usually 'the man.' Here, we set scoring and playing time aside and play defense and pass the ball."
Gbinije, No. 12 in the ESPNU 60, said he's transferring to Benedictine (Richmond, Va.) for his final two years of high school. The Richmond resident, who previously attended Christchurch (Va.) School, has nine scholarship offers.
That list should expand after Takeover close out their summer schedule later this week at a tournament in Chantilly, Va.
Takeover, which also beat Team Stat earlier in the month at the Nike Peach Jam in South Carolina, exploded in the second quarter, taking leads of 19, 20 and 23 points before settling for a 43-23 advantage at intermission.
"We knew to push the ball for easy baskets," said Grant, whose father, Harvey, played in the NBA with the Washington Bullets.
Team Stat made a second-quarter run, slicing the deficit to five, 24-19, on Rivers' transition layup, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Takeover made it 30-19 with 3:47 in the half.
Both sides pushed the tempo in the opening five minutes, and Takeover led 14-6 as Gbinije scored seven. The D.C. squad carried a comfortable 20-8 edge into the second. Rivers accounted for six of his team's points.
"This is great," Gbinije said of the team's first major tournament title. "People weren't sure about us at first, but now they know who we are. This was a great experience this week."
Takeover's balanced sheet had Brandon Young of Friendship Collegiate (Washington, D.C.) with nine points, four rebounds and three assists; Eugene McCrory of Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) had nine points; and 6-4 Victor Oladipo of DeMatha added a team-high seven rebounds.
