It was an exciting day of basketball competition at the Roberts Creek Community School on Saturday, July 23 as 14 adult teams and five youth teams came out for the Daniel Kingsbury Memorial 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament.
“It was an idea that started nine years ago. Robbie McFarland and Daniel put on a 3 on 3 tournament for Creek Days,” organizer Tony Dill said. “It was a success, but we all carried on with our lives and got busy and it didn’t quite happen again. Last summer, we lost our good friend Daniel and it got us to thinking that this is something the community has been missing.”
The tournament raised over $2,000 for the Jellyfish Project, an environmental education initiative created by Kingsbury in 2011.
Basketball was one of Kingsbury’s passions. In 2007, he and a few friends petitioned the Sunshine Coast Regional District for additional basketball hoops at Roberts Creek Elementary. They managed to get the funding to have two more installed.
“Daniel was just a trooper,” his long-time friend Robert McFarland said. “He was always here, this was his favourite place. He loved playing ball. He was a good athlete and a good player. We miss him.”
Games began at 9:30 a.m. and the five youth teams played a round robin that brought Team Ethnically Diverse and Go Harden in the Paint to the finals at 5 p.m. Team Ethnically Diverse – with players Jessie Umayat, Ben Luporini, Favor Olaniyan, Sean Pletz, Andrew Risebrough, and Dave Ravina – took the youth championship title in a 15-10 contest, with Go Harden in the Paint finishing second and Flint Michigan taking third place. Meanwhile, the adult teams battled it down to the quarterfinals.
After the host team – Creekin’ 4tay – pulled off the win in an exciting back and forth battle with The Gilas, they went to the semi-final round along with the DeJocktons, Alley Oops and Linda Jackson.
The DeJocktons won the semi-final against Creekin’ 4tay, advancing to the 8 p.m. finals against the Alley Oops. The Alley Oops, with players Jonathan Coulthard, Jackie Liu, and tournament MVP Mike Chen, played without subs and were undefeated throughout the tournament. They took home the trophy after a 15-12 win.
The tournament received very generous support from local businesses, members and parents of the Sunshine Coast Basketball Club – as well as many community members who reflected Kingsbury’s legacy of generosity and community building.
The Jellyfish Project has given presentations to over 66,000 high school and middle school students across Canada. To learn more, visit www.thejellyfishproject.org
– With files from Vicki Dobbyn
