AASB Final Four
| Current season, competition or edition: Current sports event 23/24 Semester 1 | |
| Founded | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 22/23 Semester 1 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Boys Basketball: EARJ Panthers
Girls Basketball: International School of Curitiba Wildcats Boys Soccer: School of the Nations Girls Soccer: EABH Hawks Cheerleading: OLM Lancers(23/24 Semester 1) |
| Qualification | Big 8 Tournament ISSL |
The AASB Final Four is an annual series of sports tournaments held among international schools in Brazil, organized by the Association of American Schools in Brazil (AASB). The finalists of the Big 8 and ISSL tournaments in each respective sport each advance to face off at the Final Four to determine the AASB National Champions. The tournament features competitions in basketball, soccer, volleyball, futsal, and cheerleading, and happens every semester, with a rotation of basketball, soccer, and cheerleading on Semester 1, and futsal along with volleyball on Semester 2. The most recent edition was the 23/24 Season Semester 1, which took place at EARJ.
Member Schools
Member schools depend on the performance of teams in their respective conference/tournaments, the Big 8 and the ISSL. In total, 16 teams are eligible to participate. Below are listed the participants of the most recent edition of the AASB Final Four.
| School | Location | Sports that participated | Nickname | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EARJ | Rio de Janeiro | Boys Basketball, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Cheerleading | Panthers | Red, Blue, and White |
| Graded School | São Paulo | Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer | Eagles | Red and White |
| St. Paul's School | São Paulo | Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Boys Soccer | Lions | Navy Blue, White, and Red |
| EABH | Belo Horizonte | Girls Soccer | Hawks | Blue and White |
| The British School (Urca Unit) | Rio de Janeiro | Boys Basketball | Falcons | Blue and Red |
| The British School (Barra Unit) | Rio de Janeiro | Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer | Falcons | Red and Blue |
| School of The Nations | Brasília | Boys Soccer | Cougars | Blue, Red, White, and Yellow |
| EAC | Campinas | Cheerleading | Giants | Green, Black, White, and Yellow |
| OLM | Rio de Janeiro | Cheerleading | Lancers | Navy Blue and Gold |
History
The AASB Final Four is a recent tournament, dating back to 2022. The proposition was made after schools that ended up being left out of the prestigious Big 8 tournament formed the ISSL, which prompted AASB to propose a large National type tournament, where finalists of both leagues would come together to decide who truly is the best school. The first edition took place at Graded in Semester 1, with basketball, soccer, and cheerleading. The 2nd edition took place in Semester 2 of 2022 at EARJ, with futsal and volleyball. The most recent edition took place at the start of December 2023, once again at EARJ. The tournament was supposed to take place at OLM, however the latter lacked the infrastructure required to host such an event, therefore, it was transferred to the biggest school in Rio; EARJ. It once again had the selection of Semester 1 sports, meaning basketball, soccer, and cheerleading. The most recent edition saw some of the biggest crowds in AASB history, with local Panther fans crowding both the pitch and gym. The gym, known as the Tartan hit its maximum capacity during the championship Boys Basketball game (won by the home team), with its gates having to be shut mid game.
Access Tournaments
Big 8
The Big 8, formerly known as the Big 4, stands as the oldest and most prestigious AASB-approved tournament, dating back to the 70's, and taking place at a neutral location. It brings together some of the eight most prestigious American/international schools in Brazil, creating a highly competitive platform for basketball, soccer, futsal, volleyball, and cheerleading. The participating schools include the EARJ Panthers, the EAC Giants, Chapel School Trojans, Graded School Eagles, PACA Warriors, ISC Wildcats, EAB Bulls, and Sant'anna International School Wolves.
This tournament not only determines the champions in each sport but also serves as a showcase of the long time rivalries and athletic excellence among some of the top American schools in Brazil.
ISSL
The ISSL is another AASB-approved tournament that unites eight schools for competitions in basketball, soccer, futsal, volleyball, and cheerleading. While considered a smaller scale overall league due to its recent creation, the ISSL holds significance in fostering sportsmanship and competition among participating schools. It also is a valuable tournament, as its finalists earn a spot in the Final Four. Participating schools include, St. Paul's School, School of the Nations, both British School Units, EABH, OLM, PASB, and PAS POA.
Recent Tournaments
23/24 Season Semester 1 - EARJ
Boys Soccer
The four finalists included Nations, St. Paul's, Graded, and EARJ. Despite EARJ stepping in for Sant'anna due to logistics reasons on Sant'anna's part, Nations emerged victorious after a thrilling competition, defeating Graded in the final. This made the Cougars 2 time champions, and the first ever team in the history of the whole competition to accomplish such a feat. In 2022, their title was an important mark to Brasília, so much so that they were featured on the news outlet Metrópoles. It is expected their most recent achievement will have the same effect.
Girls Soccer
EABH secured the championship in girls' soccer, triumphing over EARJ in the semi-finals and then claiming victory against Graded in the finals. British Barra Unit secured the bronze medal after a dominant performance.
Boys Basketball
EARJ and St. Paul's faced off in the boys' basketball final for the second consecutive year, with St. Paul's having won in the past season. In a highly anticipated match, EARJ emerged triumphant in front of their massive home crowd, including some form of a Torcida Organizada named Young Panthers, to secure the championship. The whole court was flooded with fans after the final whistle, as EARJ achieved their first ever National Championship for basketball, and second overall, after the futsal team in the 22/23 Season Semester 2 Final Four did it as well.
Girls Basketball
ISC dominated the girls' basketball tournament, with their team (especially the point-guard) exhibiting outstanding skills. Despite a strong showing by St. Paul's, ISC claimed absolute victory in the final, while Graded secured the bronze medal.
Cheerleading
In the cheerleading category, OLM won gold, followed by EAC earning silver and EARJ taking home the bronze.
References
- "Athletics Department". Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro - EARJ. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- "Athletics - Graded". Graded - The American School of São Paulo. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- "Tournaments - EABH". Escola Americana de Belo Horizonte - EABH. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- "EAB Athletics for Varsity & JV - AASB/Big 8 & Little 10". American School of Brasília. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- Serra, Stefany (7 December 2022). "Título inédito: time de futebol do DF volta para casa com medalha de ouro". Metrópoles. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- "Nations' Cougars take first place in boys' soccer at American & International Schools competition". School of the Nations. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- "AASB Final Four". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - ST. Pauls´1 x GRADED 2 - (GIRLS) - (Day 1 03/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - ISC´ x TBS BARRA - (GIRLS) - (Day 1 03/12/2023) + CERIMÔNIA". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - ISC x St. PAUL´S - (GIRLS) - (Day 2 04/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - TBS BARRA x GRADED - (GIRLS) - (Day 2 04/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - EARJ X TBS URCA - (BOYS´) - (Day 1 03/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - ST. Pauls´1 x GRADED 2 - (BOYS´) - (Day 1 03/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - GRADED x TBS URCA - (BOYS) - (Day 2 04/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB NATIONAL FINAL FOUR TOURNAMENT - St. PAUL´S x EARJ - (BOYS) - (Day 2 04/12/2023)". Youtube - Jean Thomps. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - Graded x Nations - Boys Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - EARJ x St. Paul's - Boys Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - Nations x EARJ - Boys Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - Graded x St. Paul's - Boys Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - Graded x EABH - Girls Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - EARJ x TBS - Girls Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - Graded x TBS - Girls Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- "AASB FINAL FOUR - EARJ x EABH - Girls Soccer". Youtube - EARJ TV. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
This article "AASB Final Four" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:AASB Final Four. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
