More than 20 Island teams faced off in the 12th annual Vineyard Streetball Classic three-on-three basketball tournament last weekend in Oak Bluffs. The first team to score 11 points won. The action was fast and furious.
The teams, often coed, were allowed two substitutions. Each basket was worth 1 point. Excessive fouling gave a point to the other team. The three divisions were ages 9-11, 12-14, and high school, each with both a winners’ and losers’ bracket.
“Omar Daniel felt that there was a down period with basketball on the Island, so he put together this 3v3 tournament with his uncle, Michael Daniel,” Oak Bluffs park director Mark Rivers said in a telephone conversation with The Times. “He tied it in with fitness and nutrition to fight obesity. Turnout this year was good, 20 to 25 teams, but we were hoping for a few more.”
This year the Classic, which started Saturday, July 5, had to be finished on Sunday due to rain. “The weather was sketchy,” said Mr. Rivers. “The teams played from 8 am to 2 pm, but then it rained and we had to put it off until the next morning.”
Mr. Rivers hopes that next year there will be a wider range of contestants. “I’d like to see it expand to the old-timers,” he said. “You know, the guys who think they can still play but really can’t. It’d be nice to get the community more engaged and broaden the audience.”
