3v3 basketball delivers energy and excitement

Geeks and Sneaks, Jayhawks set to meet up in championship match

Eight teams battled it out for a shot at the 3v3 basketball championship. Games were adjusted to Monday and Wednesday to keep the gym open for recreational use on Tuesday and Thursday; nonetheless, there was still great participation and exciting matchups. 

The initial start date was used to let the teams get acquainted with each other and to get the final teams and schedule set up for anyone that wanted to sign up at game time. From there teams were split into a north and south division, with each team playing the other three teams in their division twice across two days. Defending champ, Alex Rodriguez looked to make it back with a new team this semester while there were also new faces trying to make it tougher on him this time around. 

The free agent team was initially a powerhouse, there just happened to be multiple solo participants who played well and had immediate chemistry with each other. It looked like they were a clear favorite, but a fifth free agent showed up which would put their team over the max limit. Moments later another free agent showed up so the first team of five was then split into two teams of three with room for a substitute if anyone else was to show up. 

“Free agents were showing up one by one, so we didn’t realize they had too many at first,” said Carla Gamez-Vela, Intramural director. “We split the teams to each have two boys and one girl so that it could be as fair as possible.” 

One of the players forced to split from his team was Jesiah Montes, who was disappointed in losing his strong team, but determined not to let that stop him. 

Montes helped lead his new team, Geeks and Sneaks, to a 2-1 record entering the final day, with the only loss being to his former teammates. This was good enough to be tied for first in the north division with Rodriguez’s new team, Clap City. For Rodriguez, his foe was now his friend as he teamed up with Angel Morales, whom he faced off against in the 1v1 championship last semester. Unfortunately for them, the third member of their squad was unable to make it on the last day and they had no substitutes, so they were left with the decision to forfeit their games or play in 3v2 games, and they chose the latter. Right away these two faced off as Montes used his size and passing ability to make Clap City work on offense and defense. Morales used his long arms to zone between two defenders while Rodriguez stayed mostly active on the ball. Clap City did a good job stretching the game out and keeping it close, but the Geeks and Sneaks were able to wear them down and rebound the misses they needed to pull ahead and win 11-7, putting them in first place with two games left. 

The Geeks and Sneaks had the Average Joes up next, who proved to be a tough competitor in every match of the tournament. This one went back and forth until the end, but Montes got comfortable with a running right floater that he hit for the last four points to edge out the win, 11-10. Shortly after that, Clap City was defeated by the Aces, which locked in a trip to the championship for Geeks and Sneaks before their last game. 

Despite this, Montes was not looking to let up on the competition.

“I’m still gonna try to win, we want to win them all that’s just my mentality,” Montes said. 

This one also meant a little more to him because it was against the Aces, his former team and the only ones whom he hadn’t beaten so far. Neither team could pull away in this one as they traded shots until Andrew Soliz hit a deep jumper while falling to secure another 11-10 win for Geeks and Sneaks. 

In the South the story was a little different, the Jayhawks were a well-rounded team who could do a little bit of everything. A team comprised of Malcolm Skinner, Jordan Fillmore, Marcus Smith, and Janessa Herrera ran through opponents to a tune of a 5-0 record entering their last game against team GBG, who had only lost to the Jayhawks at this point. If they could get an upset then they would create an exact tie, and despite a great effort they fell short as the Jayhawks spaced the floor and limited their mistakes to remain undefeated as they head to the championship game!

The stage is now set for March 6 as Jacob Fillington, Andrew Soliz, and Jesiah Montes represent the north division with the Geeks and Sneaks while they take on the south division champion Jayhawks at 5 p.m. in a best-of-three series in the Heritage Campus Gym. 

Also, don’t forget to RSVP and participate in the Color Run one mile run/walk on March 7 right outside the Heritage Campus. Onsite registration will begin at 10 a.m., while the race will begin at 11. Wear all white for the full experience. 

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