For Whitehall, the road to the finals of the Stellar Summer League went through Reading, and they passed that test with flying colors.

They completely dismantled the No. 1 seed, winning 52-38. That dismantling was done through hustle as they won almost every loose ball battle.

They also crashed the boards with abandon as Devin Martinez, Logan McGinley, Jackson Buskirk, Jordan Harrington and Charles Hudson were making sure that Reading wasn’t getting multiple possessions.

It was another win in what’s been an impressive summer for Whitehall that eventually led to the title. It was their third appearance in a championship game this summer.

McGinley feels that this summer’s success has been a byproduct of simply playing together for a long time.

“I feel like this year’s going to be our year because our chemistry’s gotten so much better as a team,” said McGinley. “We’ve just been playing together since we were little.”

McGinley said that their friendship isn’t limited to the basketball court, and that’s helped to bond them.

“It’s not just all basketball, and I feel like that’s has a big importance when it comes to team chemistry,” said McGinley.

McGinley isn’t concerned about what’s happened in the past and that some predict the EPC title this season will boil down to either Parkland, Allen, Pocono Mountain West or Emmaus.

“Our focus has to be on the team we’re playing right now,” said McGinley. “We need to play this team right now and beat this team.”

This team happened to be Reading and they made it clear they came to play. Their hustle created extra possessions, and their aggressiveness earned them trips to the foul line.

McGinley and his teammates were also relentless on the boards.

“It’s whoever wants the ball more every single game,” said McGinley. “It’s who wants that possession, who wants that ball.”

Martinez worked well inside scoring from the paint, while Hudson and McGinley were attacking the basket. Jordan Harrington was also effective inside, while Kasai Harrison played well on the perimeter.

Head coach Jeff Jones said that after the game as the team huddled up, assistant coach Corey Frantz spoke about their aggressiveness and how it made an impact on the game.

“That’s a compliment to the kids,” said Jones. “They just kept battling and battling and battling.”

Whitehall will rarely line-up against a team that’s smaller than they are, so Jones said it’s about getting in the right position and then being able to get out in transition quickly to create a fast-break.

Jones said that while many of his players are multi-sport athletes, they all share a common denominator and that’s their competitive desire.

“I’ll take competitors any day of the week,” said Jones. “I’m really pleased with where we’re at.”