March Madness: A chance to play like the pros
Sneakers screeched on the basketball courts of the Borchard Community Center as children in grades 3-12 competed to win the second annual March Madness event on March 21.
Michael Braff, recreation leader at Borchard Community Center, came up with the idea for the tournament last year and organized the event. His version of the college basketball March Madness tournament gives children the opportunity to play in tournament style three-on-three games as well as participate in a three point shooting contest.
“If you keep winning you move on. If you lose two games then you’re done,” Braff said.
The participants showed up early that morning to prepare for the long day of basketball that lay ahead of them. They were separated into three divisions: third through fifth graders, sixth through eighth graders, and freshmen through seniors. Participants ranged in skill level, with some coming from school basketball teams and Newbury Park Basketball Association (NPBA) teams.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity for our players,” Tom Hare, president of NPBA, said. “We hope to get a lot of participation from our players in the three-on-three tournament.”
24 teams, with eight in each division, competed in the 10 minute games. Jack Schlesinger, Erol Arik, and Justin Surmani, freshmen at Westlake High School, were just a few of the participants who hoped to make it to the finals.
“Our friends told us about (the tournament) and they were kind of trash talking us that we couldn’t beat them,” Surmani said.
However, in a game that ended 20-19, the boys prevailed over their friends. “We executed offensively.” Arik said.
Team after team played on the half court as awaiting players practiced shooting on the other side. In the final games, teams from both the middle school and high school divisions were crowned the winner and received a trophy to congratulate them. Arik, Schlesinger, and Surmani won the high school division and Wilson Pool, Mark Bolo, and Colin Walton won the middle school division.
