Elite N8V’s close out NABI as silver champions

PHOENIX

After going winless in pool play, the Elite N8V’s girls’ basketball team needed a little guidance.

Without the service of head coach Dion Mitchel for the first three days of the weeklong Native American Basketball Invitational, the Elite N8V’s missed his leadership.

“His guidance is unbelievable,” Journey Gillson said of her coach. “He knows us as individual players and he knows who can do what. He’s an amazing coach. He yells at us when he needs to and he pushes us to the limit that we never thought was possible.”

Based on what they did in pool play, nobody but Mitchel expected his Gallup-based team to win the silver bracket at the 15th annual edition of the NABI tournament.
“When I came back to coach them I told them that we are going to set the example,” Mitchel said. “Every team that we played we blew them out and we made sure they remembered us.”

With a sense of urgency, Elite N8V’s won their final five games by a 24.6-point margin, including last Saturday’s 48-26 win over Waziyata UNPI in the silver bracket championship game at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix.

“Winning today made us feel good,” team co-captain Amanda Mitchel said.

After losing their first three games “we felt unstoppable,” she said.

Like her teammate Gillson, Mitchel said they needed their coach back to get them back on track. And when he returned, everything seemed to fall in place for the N8V’s.

“These guys have a lot respect for me and I have a lot respect for them,” Dion Mitchel said. “They were already upset when I couldn’t coach them in pool play. They kept calling me but I told them I will be there. I had some family issues to deal with.”

Mitchel said their mutual respect goes a long way as they have placed in the top two at every big tournament they have entered.

“I’ve had these girls for the whole summer and they believe in everything that I’m teaching them,” he said.

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