Union Cleaners rallies to upset Tri-County

By Jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

Union Cleaners head coach TJ Kurutz isn’t going to lie, he felt some nerves watching his team fall behind big on two occasions Tuesday night.

But that didn’t diminish the amount of confidence he had in his squad.

He watched as his No. 3 Union Cleaners team overcame a 15-point first quarter deficit along with a 10-point second half deficit to claim a dramatic 67-64 victory over second-seeded Tri-County Realty in the Grebb League semifinals Tuesday at California Middle School.

With the win, Union Cleaners (6-5) earned a trip to Thursday’s championship game to face the two-time defending champions from Campy’s Pizza.

“I had confidence in this team. They’re a veteran team and they’ve been through a lot this season,” Kurutz said. “Tri-County had our number all year, winning both times in the regular season. It’s nice to get one (win) out and it’s nice that it happened in the playoffs, too.” 

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