Luke Witt, National MVP of Ultimate Hoops, after his Kings squad won the MPLS Gold Cup.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Ultimate Hoops announced Luke Witt had won the National MVP Award for the 2009 Spring season.

Witt led the Kings to a perfect 11-0 record and a Gold Cup this season, as he averaged 30.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 4.3 apg while also posting one of the greatest games in UH history back in week 3.  Witt had never averaged more than 25.8 ppg in his previous nine seasons and had not won his first ever regional MVP until this season despite some terrific past campaigns.  But Witt could care less about that now - he has a deserved National MVP under his belt.

Luke - congratulations on a great season and the National MVP!

Dream Team were all smiles after their 2-point win earned them a spot in the Arizona Gold Cup.

Dream Team's dominance in Tempe was sealed last night, as they defeated Donovan McNabb (37 pts, 70% shooting, 13 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls) and Arizona's Best 91-89.

After falling behind by 8 points at the break, Dream Team amassed a second half barrage - they outscored Arizona's Best 58-48 and shot 49% from the field. Kevin Johnson (25 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 4 stls) and Jon Ziri (21 pts, 18 rebounds, 2 stls) proved too much for Arizona's Best, who besides McNabb received great games from Doug Harris (18 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls) and MVP-winner Parfait Nayigihugu (21 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls).

Dream Team will be anxiously awaiting the result from this Thursday's Scottsdale Finals, as the victor of the Movers & Shakers/PHX Ballas game will be their next - and final - opponent for the Spring 2009 Arizona Gold Cup.

HOW WILL TWO-WEEK BREAK AFFECT BOBCATS, RIDDLERS IN MPLS SOUTH REC TITLE GAME?: It's been a fortnight since either of these teams took to the courts, and the question on people's minds is how will the extended break impact the title game? May the teams be extra rested or rusted, there is still plenty of motivation for the game.

June 24th, 2009 - MPLS South Finals
7:00 - #2 Riddlers v. #8 Bobcats

30 SOMETHINGS LOOK TO EMULATE WINE CHATEAU, NAPTOWN HOOPERZ: The 30 Somethings can win back-to-back Gold Cups tonight in Kansas City, joining Wine Chateau (STL) and Naptown Hooperz (IND) as dynastic squads that claimed the first two championships of their region's existence. Nathan Harris and the Tropics must bring their A-game to stump the 30 Somethings' title defense.

June 24th, 2009 - Kansas City Gold Cup and All-Star Game
7:00 - #3 Tropics v. #4 30 Somethings
8:00 - KC All-Star Game

DENVER'S INAUGURAL GOLD CUP SEES CONTENDERS ENTER ROUND 3: Champion Bank and Spears will play for the third and ultimate time later today, as the Mile High Gold Cup will be awarded for the first time. Can Champion Bank live up to their name, or do the Spears have other ideas?

June 24th, 2009 - Denver Gold Cup
7:00 - #1 Champion Bank v. #3 Spears

On Saturday, word came down from the UH League offices regarding the winners of the Top Flight regional MVP awards. Each of those winners become nominees for the National MVP Award.

A firestorm of controversy surrounds the nominations, though, as defending National MVP Chad Clum did not win the Scottsdale MVP despite some LeBron-esque numbers. The Movers & Shakers front office was not available for immediate comment.

Despite the incident, league officials are currently reviewing every candidate's résumé and will be prepared to crown the National MVP on Friday. Until then, good luck to each of these players:

Phillip Aholt - Pup 'n' Suds, Scottsdale
Glenn Keller - Bulldogs, Indianapolis
Duke Seward - Vertically Challenged, Chicago
John Hawkins - The Show, Kansas City
Sean Kelly - Champion Bank, Denver
David Watson - Wine Chateau, St. Louis
Todd Klostermann - Rabine Financial, Omaha
Luke Witt - Kings, Minneapolis
Parfait Nayigihugu - Arizona's Best, Tempe

Third time was a charm for Luke Sontowski (43) and Cobra Kai, who finally beat Steve Schmidt (14) and The Rapture.

- Omaha's Rabine Financial played their semi-finals contest against the Bruins without fire-starters Troy Malone and Todd Klostermann, and it showed as the Bruins cruised 80-65. Gene Rafter had 17 points and 11 rebounds in an attempt to bolster Rabine's depleted attack, but the Bruins were clinical from deep (14-29 from 3pt range) and unloaded a 45-23 first half lead as they earned a spot in Omaha's first Gold Cup game. Cy Carlson had 25 points (7-13 from beyond the arc) and 7 rebounds, while Craig Hector's big night (11 pts, 15 rebs, 8 asts, 2 stls) keyed the Bruins performance. Heading to the offseason, Rabine Financial will be under pressure from their fan base to dole out max contracts to Klostermann and Malone as they attempt to make a run at the championship in Summer.

- Movers & Shakers will defend their Scottsdale title next week after pounding Old School 97-79. Tyler Bolli had a game-high 30 points, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Chad Clum (29 pts, 13 rebs, 7 asts, 3 stls) put together another MVP-caliber line for M&S, while his teammate Matt Hatten (19 points, 12 rebounds) controlled the interior against a solid Old School frontcourt. Brent Diedrich (29 points) played well in the loss.

- An unexpected result from Minneapolis North propelled Cobra Kai over The Rapture 65-52 and into the Minneapolis Rec Gold Cup game at the Target Center. Cobra Kai had lost their previous two meetings to The Rapture where they were unable to field a five-man lineup. Last night, CK's seven players trumped the iron-five of The Rapture thanks to Luke Sontowski (15 pts, 10 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls) and the defense of Dustin Dupont (14 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 3 stls). A couple of 20-point nights from James McRoberts and Dan Simmer were not enough to overcome 20 committed turnovers by the once mighty Rapture. Falling a game short of the big stage, The Rapture will have to double their offseason efforts to re-organize their franchise. For Cobra Kai, they get the glory of representing the North at the Target Center in the first ever Minneapolis area Gold Cup.

MPLS REC GOLD CUP AT THE TARGET CENTER
June 27th, 4:00
#3 Cobra Kai (N) v. winner of Riddlers/Bobcats (S)

- A balanced effort from the PHX Ballas earned them a spot in the Scottsdale Finals, as they defeated Pup 'n' Suds 70-55. The all-around performances of Tyrone Jones (15 pts, 8 rebs, 5 asts) and Anthony Hesano (18 pts, 6 rebs, 7 asts) paced PHX by the one-man-show of Phillip Aholt (29 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks) and the Pup 'n' Suds; now the Ballas can focus their attention on finding a way past the Movers & Shakers, who they did not face this season.

SCOTTSDALE FINALS
June 25th, 9:00
#1 Movers & Shakers v. #2 PHX Ballas

- The early edition of the Omaha semi-finals pitted #1 TBD against 5th-seeded PicksPokerTables.com. Without their center Aaron Langhorst, TBD was outmatched in the paint and were soundly beaten 68-49. The inside-outside combination of PPT center Bobby Wiese (16 pts, 13 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls, 4 blks) and guard Josh Hopwood (23 points, 5-12 from deep) proved too much for TBD who shot just 29% and were outrebounded by eight. PicksPokerTables.com will have to tighten up their free throw shooting (12-31, 39%) ahead of their Gold Cup clash with the Bruins.

OMAHA GOLD CUP
June 25th, 7:00
#2 Bruins v. #5 PicksPokerTables.com

Yesterday we announced the Best Defense winners for the 2009 Spring campaign of Ultimate Hoops. Now it's time to unveil the Best Offense winners:

SCOTTSDALE

Victor Benjamin - Lizards

INDIANAPOLIS
Adam Shunk - International Ballers

CHICAGO

Taliaferro Roots - Celtics

KANSAS CITY

Larry Pandjanis - JC Hoops

DENVER

Sean Kelly - Champion Bank

ST. LOUIS

Randy Klohmann - Wine Chateau

OMAHA

Troy Malone - Rabine Financial

TEMPE

Victor Benjamin - Hoop Squad

MPLS SOUTH (TF)

Denver TenBroek - Kings

(Minneapolis Rec awards will be announced on Saturday, June 27th, in NBA City at the Target Center at 3pm. Click here for more information.)