SUWANEE, GA – The hardest thing for any competitor is to concede defeat.

However, the toughest thing to do for any travel basketball team is re-arranging travel plans on a minimal budget. This is exactly what happened for the Houston Hoops DJ team.

The Texas-based organization had several players who needed to catch flights back to the Lone Star state to get back to school. This would have diminished the teams roster and with possible an 11 hour road trip by car home, Houston decided it was best to head home instead of playing out the 16U Nike Memorial Day Classic championship on Sunday at Suwanee Sports Academy.

Due to this uncontrollable conflict, the Arkansas Wings were awarded the championship trophy. Houston Hoops was given second place. Regardless of the championship results, both teams earned the coveted Peach Jam bid along with Nike Team Florida. All three will be part of Peach Jam in July.

However, how the Hoops and Wings got to the championship were in different paths.

Houston needed a 3-pointer with :12 seconds to play by guard Nate Nahimy to win its semifinal 50-49. Stackhouse’s shot at the buzzer bounced away. Arkansas outlasted Nike Team Florida 54-51.