After finishing the regular season in fourth place, Mulchworks got hot at the right time and captured the CLCF High School Division Championship with an unbeaten run through the playoffs.

Mulchworks beat All for One in its first game before knocking off the top-seeded Celtics with a rally from 11 points down. In the winner’s bracket finals, Mulchworks delivered another comeback, rallying from five down to beat PC Auto by two. Michael Valelli, Nate Blanco and Junior Rivas led the way.

The Celtics came out of the loser’s bracket to set up a rematch in the championship game. Thanks to key buckets by Sandy Paulino, Omar Rihani, Jaylen Johnson and Carols Domingues, Mulchworks jumped out to an early lead. Late in the first half, Garen Megrdichian came off the bench and hit a long three-pointer to put his team up 14. The Celtics came back to trail by just seven at halftime.

The second half was back-and-forth, and the score was tied at the final buzzer. In overtime, Dominguez hit a three to put Mulchworks up one before the Celtics took a 44-42 lead with 14 seconds left. On the next possession, Mulchworks’ Nate Blanco penetrated the lane, fought through a double team and found a wide-open Megrdichian on the right wing. He nailed his third three-pointer of the game with five seconds left, putting Mulchworks up one. The Celtics couldn’t convert on their last possession, and Mulchworks celebrated the title. (Submitted photo)