BURLINGTON, Mass.—Hundreds of enthusiastic members of the Armenian Youth Federation – Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Eastern Region spent their President’s Day weekend at the 2022 National Athletic Tournament (NAT) hosted by the Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter.
Over 150 AYF seniors registered to participate in the indoor basketball and co-ed volleyball tournaments held at The Mill Works in Westford. There were seven men’s and women’s basketball teams and nine co-ed volleyball teams—the highest total number of athletes and teams in recent history.
Starting off with the double elimination men’s basketball tournament, the preliminary round games were played early Saturday morning to decide which teams would face off in the semi-finals and final on Sunday. Defending men’s champions Philadelphia and women’s champions New Jersey were awarded first round byes. After a morning of amazing first round matchups, the final four consisted of Philadelphia, Detroit, Providence and Greater Boston. Philadelphia and Detroit were set to face-off in the winners bracket on Sunday, with Greater Boston and Providence going head to head in the elimination bracket. Detroit took care of Chicago (74-23) and Providence (48-36) easily in their first two games, and Philadelphia held off Greater Boston with a final score of 49-48 in the closest matchup of the first day.
In the double elimination women’s basketball tournament, the Philadelphia, Detroit, New Jersey and Greater Boston chapters advanced to the final four. Philadelphia showed off its strength in two convincing wins against Chicago (51-11) and Detroit (37-15), while New Jersey took care of Greater Boston (41-12) in its only game on Saturday. The young women from Providence participated with a full team for the first time in many years, and the Middlesex County “Musa Ler” Chapter proudly fielded its first women’s team in chapter history.
The Sunday games started with the co-ed volleyball tournament, with 2020 finalists Washington, DC as the number one seed. The closest matchup of the preliminary rounds was a tight three-set match between Detroit and Greater Boston; the “Nejdehs” prevailed two sets to one. The semifinal matchups consisted of Washington, DC versus Middlesex County and Providence versus Greater Boston. Washington, DC moved onto the final once again with a 2-0 victory; Providence eliminated Greater Boston by the same score. The final between Washington, DC and Providence featured an impressive talent pool, with hustle plays and high-quality serving.
Ultimately, the Providence “Varantian” Chapter won the championship with a score of 2-0, bringing home another trophy following its AYF Olympics win back in September. The volleyball tournament showed a great deal of respect and fair play, upholding the most important AYF value of fraternity. New AYF-YOARF member and first time NATs attendee David Ayrassian from Providence stated, “I didn’t know what to expect attending my first NATs…but it was far better than anything I could have imagined. The tightly knit community embraced me with open arms both on the court and at the events.”
The semifinal matchups of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments also began early Sunday morning. In the men’s tournament, Greater Boston handily beat Providence (47-31), while Philadelphia beat Detroit (48-39) in one of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend. With its second win, Philadelphia made it to the championship and would await the winner of the Detroit-Greater Boston matchup in the elimination bracket. In a highly physical matchup, Greater Boston defeated Detroit (40-32) with its strong core of young players, and the home team advanced to the men’s basketball final. On the women’s side, Philadelphia held off New Jersey (31-30) in an extremely tight matchup. Detroit beat Greater Boston (27-11) in the elimination bracket, but then fell to New Jersey (28-16), setting up a rematch of Philadelphia and New Jersey.
The basketball finals started with the women, with all eyes on the Philadelphia and New Jersey chapters. New Jersey came out of the gates with an eight-point lead in the first half, but the Philadelphia women did not back down and responded, making it a close game. With Philadelphia down one with 1:30 to go, Ani Javardian stepped up to the challenge, scoring several points within the last seconds of the game to help send her team home with the championship with a final score of 28-25. The “Sebouhs” utilized their towering height and strong starting lineup to finish everything around the rim; Javardian scored half of Philadelphia’s points with 14 total, earning the women’s tournament MVP award. “New Jersey always puts up a good fight at NATs,” said Javardian. “With three new players on our Philly team this year, we are excited to bring the championship back home again at NATs 2023!”
The entire crowd gathered on the center court for what would be the most exciting men’s final in recent NATs history. Philadelphia entered the game with longtime veteran presence, while Greater Boston set out to prove themselves with a younger squad. The first half was extremely competitive, with Greater Boston up 26-25 at the half. Going into the second half, nobody could expect what was to come next. With the score tied at 51-51 and 15 seconds left, Central Athletic Council chairman Daron Hamparian hit a close-range jumpshot leaving just two seconds on the clock. Philadelphia quickly called timeout to recoup and come up with a game plan. On the inbounds play, Anto Keshgegian—a Division 1 player at Temple and Drexel—drew a foul which sent him to the free throw line for a one-and-one free throw situation. Keshgegian calmly drained both free throws to tie the game, sending the conclusion of the men’s basketball tournament to a five-minute overtime period. With 34 seconds left in overtime, Philadelphia drew a foul and hit both free throws to extend their lead to 64-61. Greater Boston came down and responded appropriately, with first time NATs participant Sam Charchaflian hitting a difficult corner three to tie the game at 64-64, sending the game to a second overtime. In the final three minute overtime, the fresher and younger legs of Greater Boston ultimately triumphed with an unfathomable final score of 77-71, the highest scoring NATs final in recent history. Hamparian received men’s tournament MVP honors, scoring a tournament-high 37 points and shooting lights out from the three point line, hitting nine triples over the 48-minute matchup. A livestream of the men’s final starting midway through the first half can be found on the AYF Eastern Region Facebook page.
“I had a lot of fun playing in my first NATs this year,” said Charchaflian after the exhilarating final. “Our team had so much pride in wanting to represent our chapter in the best way possible. To win the tournament in my first year was extra special, and I can’t wait to come back and defend the title again!” In the true spirit of sportsmanship, Keshgegian stated, “Credit to Greater Boston for playing an amazing game on Sunday. Although it definitely was not the outcome we were hoping for, we loved their competitiveness and are hoping for a rematch next year!” Both teams showed true grit and determination over the grueling two-day tournament and provided endless entertainment for spectators and supporters. “It was an unbelievable team win, and I’m extremely happy to have been part of this team,” said Hamparian. “It feels great to have won MVP, but all the credit goes to my teammates for helping me get my shots up and trusting me to make them. At the end of the day it was a team win, and we wouldn’t have been able to win without our unbelievable team effort.”
Although the basketball and volleyball tournaments are the primary focus of NATs, there is so much more to the weekend than these sporting events. Three thrilling nights of entertainment featured local Boston talent DJ Arden, Kevork Artinian and the Yerakouyn Band.
“I might not be a star basketball player,” said Lori Mouradian of the Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter, “but I’m just happy to be surrounded by my ungers and ungerouhis once again.”
“This year’s NATs attested to our purpose. The Armenian youth came together, fraternally – demonstrating national pride on the court and dance floor,” said Areni Artinian of the Chicago “Ararat” Chapter. “The games were not for the sole purpose of winning, but to solidify our bonds with fellow ungers. This fervor was imminent from the sports that were played to the revolutionary songs that were sung. For me, this weekend proved we, the AYF, are present, and our commitment to our cause is eternal.”
The amount of work it takes to plan and execute this annual event cannot go unmentioned. This year’s host—the Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter—worked diligently to make sure that the long weekend event went off without a hitch. “Seeing everything come together throughout the weekend and the immense joy it brought our ungers was a satisfaction like no other,” said NATs steering committee member Emin Abrahamian. “I was so happy to see people back in Boston after nearly 10 years of not having hosted a regional event.”
Though every team came with the hopes of playing in the final, there were no hard feelings once the games concluded. The chapters who did not leave victorious need not worry; they will have another chance at victory at the Annual AYF Olympics in September of this year hosted by the Worcester “Aram” Chapter. On behalf of the Central Executive and the NATs Committee, thank you to all of those who attended, and congratulations to all of the tournament champions and MVPs!
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