ROCK HILL, S.C. — The 2025 Adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships wrapped up on Sunday after five days of high-level grassroots basketball, and there’s a lot to unpack.
Dozens of AAU programs from around the country, featuring several of the nation’s top recruits, converged in South Carolina for Adidas’ 17U, 16U and 15U championships, widely recognized as one of the best grassroots circuits. In Sunday’s championship action, Game Elite (Atlanta, Ga.) took home the 17U title, Team Lillard (Oakland, Calif.) won the 16U tournament and Midwest Basketball Club (Cincinnati, Ohio) grabbed the 15U crown.
Locally, two of New England’s premier grassroots programs – BABC and Mass Rivals – brought their 17U, 16U and 15U teams to Rock Hill. Even though they didn’t come back to Massachusetts with championship glory, Leo Papile and Vin Pastore’s squads both delivered strong performances on the national stage.
There will be plenty of coverage from the weekend, including standouts and player interviews, but here are seven initial takeaways, observations and memorable moments, both from a local and national perspective, from the event.
