Sports

Neophyte program The City makes mark, wins 15U AAU Nationals

Four years into the program’s existence, The City enjoyed a watershed moment on Sunday.

The Manhattan-based AAU team and its eclectic mix of players won the 15U AAU championships in Little Rock, Ark., knocking off the three-time defending champion Texas Titans, 32-30, in a slugfest.

“It’s been an incredible day,” said Arjan Perovic, The City’s coach and director. “It means everything. We’re trying to build a program. … This is our biggest moment.”

Bishop Loughlin rising junior Michael Williams scored a game-high 18 points and sank five 3-pointers while teammates Eric Paschall of Dobbs Ferry and Donovan Mitchell of Canterbury Prep (Conn.) capped brilliant tournaments with solid efforts.

In the four-day tournament, The City won all seven of its games, continuing its solid AAU season. The 6-foot-6 Paschall and Mitchell, a talented combo guard, figured prominently in the semifinals, combining for 42 points in a win over the Houston Defenders (Tx.). Poly Prep’s Wolfgang Novogratz added 12 points.

The title was a big step for The City, which finished ninth in nationals last year, won the Hoop Group’s Pittsburgh Jam Fest and New York Gauchos-run King of the Rock in the spring, and placed second at Rumble in The Bronx.

The City defeated Oklahoma Elite (Okla.), Ohio Varsity Blue and Arkansas Celtics (Ar.) in pool play and knocked off the Arkansas Soldiers (Ark.) and Team Penny (Tenn.) in the playoffs as well.

“Our first goal is to win the regional tournament and the next goal is to win the national championship,” said Perovic, who is also an assistant coach at Poly Prep. “This is the ultimate goal, something New York City hasn’t done since Kemba Walker.”

Perovic said his team has up to nine future Division I players, led by Williams, Paschall and Mitchell. Though they are all rising juniors, they are 15 years of age, Perovic said. The team has played up in several tournaments. The three are all receiving interest from a variety of schools at different levels, and Perovic expects most of his team to have solid scholarship offers by August.

“A lot of these kids sacrifice, they decided to play together to win this championship,” Perovic said. ‘These kids have been playing with us for four years. They could’ve bounced around and gone to other programs, but they stayed and listened to us, and they came through.”

The City, which currently just has this one team but plans to expand next year, will next head to Milwaukee, Wis. for the Under Armour Summer Slam Championship and end the July live recruiting period either in Las Vegas for the Adidas Super 64 or Atlantic City, N.J. for Live in AC.

zbraziller@nypost.com