The 3v3 championship was a battle between two very different teams. The Geeks and Sneaks were comprised of all free agents who didn’t know each other before the tournament, while the Jayhawks were a group of three friends who added a substitute at the beginning of the tournament. The chemistry they had may have been the difference between the Jayhawks and most teams as they managed to pull away in both games, winning 11-7 and 11-10 to become the champions while also maintaining a perfect 8-0 record throughout the tournament.
After some back and forth in the first game, the Jayhawks found ways to make it tougher on Jesiah Montes to get to the basket for the right-hand floater he enjoyed using; after Montes hit one to bring his team to within one point in a 7-6 game, they then stalled out, and an array of efficient shooting by the Jayhawks led them to an 11-7 victory.
Teams got a short break before starting the second game, and it seemed to help the Geeks and Sneaks as they looked energized and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. They were playing off when the Jayhawks were behind the three-point line so that it would be harder to run by them to the basket, and Malcolm Skinner decided to take advantage. “I’m usually the one that’s driving to the basket all the time, but they were giving me the shot, so I’ll take those shots.” Despite every shot counting as only a single point, Skinner brought his team back to a 5-5 tie pretty quickly. From there it was back and forth until the final shot, as the Geeks and Sneaks scored to get the 6-5 advantage, but failed to pull away as the Jayhawks began spreading out on the court which created lanes for Jordan Fillmore to burst through and finish at the rim.
With the game being tied at 10, the second game was for anyone’s taking; but the Geeks and Sneaks failed to get the final stop needed to force a game 3, as the Jayhawks managed to remain efficient for a second game and claim their title as undefeated champions! After the game I met with the Jayhawks, who all said they played on their respective basketball teams in high school. They acknowledged that they had played with each other before, so that helped them play off each other’s strengths. Everyone agreed that they enjoyed the tournament, and that they’re ready for the 1v1 tournament next. Marcus Smith, one of their members said, “It was a good introduction back into competitive basketball.”
