“When you play with family, it’s always better.”
Demitri Dionne had this in mind throughout the offseason, preparing to return to the Legacy Leagues in Massachusetts for his second season. Dionne was weighing his options; he had just wrapped up a disappointing 4-4 season with DTMB, a team that was disbanding.
Though enlisting in free agency seemed enticing, Dionne sparked up a conversation with good friends Dante Rivera and Christian Caraballo. He sold his ‘brothers’ on starting a new team, and the keys were officially in Rivera’s and Caraballo’s hands.
Rivera brought in Darwin Pereyra, who he has shared most of the offensive load with this season, along with several other close friends.
“Four or five of us could average 20 points per game, but the team cares more about winning and having fun,” Caraballo said.
Through this mentality, A1 was born.
The A1 lifestyle is to show a new creative image for the youth to express themselves
The name A1 comes from a clothing brand that Caraballo owns. Immediately jumping in as a sponsor for his team in their first season in the Legacy Leagues, Caraballo was bought in from the beginning.
Despite most of their players having never played basketball on 8.5-foot rims, the game seems to come easy to A1. The squad is rolling right now, as the lone undefeated team and the reason for three teams’ only loss. On offense, A1 emphasizes ball movement, cutting, and playing fast, and their sense of urgency is obvious.
The tape shows the ball zipping across court, and rarely does the team play isolation ball. As a result Rivera is averaging 30.0 points per game while still playing within the offense, rather than being the offense.
“I just try to get simple and easy buckets, and that’s the best way to play,” Rivera said. “I don’t worry about calls because as a ref myself I know there are some calls refs don’t want to make, but at the end of the day I just go out and play.”
The same sense of urgency is brought to the defensive side of the ball. A1 frequently traps ball handlers in the backcourt, forcing turnovers that lead to easy scoring opportunities. While they might not impose their will as shot blockers, A1’s defenders are pesky and constantly in the passing lanes.
“The way we like to beat teams is at our pace and our flow,” Caraballo said. “We like fast offense and being a pest on defense in the passing lanes, backdoor cuts, and not sagging off ball handlers.
A1’s first two wins were each by double-digits and Pereyra raved about his team’s chemistry.
Darwin Pereyra shooting a three for A1
“We’re composed enough to stay together when the game is close, and we know that any one of us can go out there and get a bucket when needed,” Pereyra said. “So we just try to have fun and keep everyone involved.”
Things seemed to really click in the third game of the season, where big man Angel Cirineo fit in perfectly against FTG. Cirineo scored most of his 18 points around the rim on 100 percent shooting.
Ultimately, the perfect blend of shot making, ball movement, and intensity isn’t luck. It’s clear when Rivera, Pereyra, Dionne and Caraballo refer to each other as brothers they mean it. A1 appears poised for a title run in their first season in the Legacy Leagues, and they had an interesting response when asked how they plan to beat any team standing in their way.
“They need to figure how to beat us!” Caraballo said.