Richmond will be very well-represented when 3x3 basketball makes its debut at the B.C. Summer Games in Nanaimo.
The Games get underway on Thursday and conclude Sunday with over 3,200 participants competing in 19 sports. Three-on-three basketball has been included, along with the regular 5x5 version thanks to its tremendous growth that has seen traditional pick-up games turned into organized competition. FIBA, the International governing body for basketball, hopes to add 3x3 basketball to the Olympics as early as 2020.
In Nanaimo, the 3x3 game will be played at the U13 level - with the oldest players having just finished grade 7. Richmond players scooped up all but two spots on the Zone 4 (Richmond-Delta-Burnaby-New West) team. The group is led by three highly respected coaches who have made a significant impact on basketball in the city over the last two decades.
Both the girls and boys teams are coached by Chris Kennedy and assisted by Sean Berda and Trish Nicholson. The trio first first worked together at McRoberts secondary close to 20 years ago, and have been preparing their teams for the Games.
"It has been great working with Sean and Trish" says Kennedy, "In just a few weeks both the boys and girls teams have really gelled and we should have a lot of fun at the Games."
The girls Zone 4 team has more experience, with seven girls entering Grade 8 in September.
They include Richmond's Bella Roberts, Jayna Wilson, Kara Moscovitz, Olivia Tweedlie, Emma Wallace and Morgan Flynn. They are joined by underage players Elizabeth Kennedy and Kate Carkner.
On the boys side all but one of the players are underaged including U12's Ian Kern, Apaar Sahota, Sargun Singh, Jordan Si and Nicholas Berda. They are joined by U11 Nicholas Kennedy and U10 guard Marcos Esteban.
"The challenge for the boys will be size" says Kennedy. "We are quick, but 3x3 is a half-court game and with so many young players are mostly guards, we will need to hit a lot of outside shots to be competitive.
"Outside of playing in a high school provincial tournament, the B.C. Summer Games is the biggest event in the province, so it is a wonderful experience for these young players to have - all before any of them have even entered Grade 8. "It would be great to do well, but a huge part of next week is the experience. They don't fully realize what a big deal the Summer Games will be."
