This week marked the beginning of the 3 vs 3 basketball tournament at the Heritage campus gymnasium. Monday was a scrimmage day for the teams to get to know each other, while the competition began on Wednesday Feb 12.
The first matchups of the day were team Trash Pandas against team Swagger, while the Ball Brothers faced off against team Got Sweat in My Eye.
Team Swagger came out firing on all cylinders, JJ Haywood showed off his range with a few deep shots early in the game and his teammates Ryan Shelley and Joseph Mata executed great ball movement and inside scoring to help them cruise to an 11-4 victory in their first matchup.
On the other court, team Got Sweat in My Eye had their work cut out for them against the Ball Brothers, as teammates Roman Livas, Jude Livas, and Matthew Rodriguez showed excellent teamwork throughout the day. The match was close early with each team trading a few buckets before Roman began dialing in from downtown and despite strong rebounding and multiple put back scores from Dallas Owen, the ball movement and high-quality shot selection by the Ball Brothers led to few misses and a well-deserved victory by a score of 11-6.
The second round of games saw a few changes to the teams. One player from team Trash Pandas was unable to be present so teammates Oscar Valenzuela and Dallas Owen doubled as members of both team Got Sweat in My Eye and team Trash Pandas to ensure that everyone can play a fair and equal game. While Valenzuela assisted the Trash Pandas first, he switched with Owen before game two which left Valenzuela to face off against team Swagger again. Just as he did in the first game, Haywood came out drilling shots from beyond the arc which seemed to give the early edge to team Swagger. However, Mark Rosales matched Haywood’s shooting ability and kept his team battling throughout the match. This was the longest of any game due to the teams being so evenly matched and a few lucky bounces helped team Got Sweat in My Eye take home their first victory of the tournament while handing team Swagger their first loss in a hard earned 11-7 victory.
Meanwhile on the other court we had the Ball Brothers going back to work in round two against Team Trash Pandas along with Dallas Owen who was getting his second crack at the Ball Brothers. Owen had his method of success down early as he was using a considerable size advantage to recover missed shots and turn them into points; however, Jude’s impressive jumping ability allowed him to make a few big stops early and shift the momentum into the hands of the Ball Brothers. Roman once again lit up the floor from downtown as he had taken a firm primary role in the scoring, mix that with some flashy no-look passing from Rodriguez to keep the defense off balance and it made a recipe for success as the Ball Brothers cruised to their second consecutive 11-6 victory.
Despite having similar scores in the second round, the Ball Brothers match finished considerably earlier than the other match which allowed them to be more rested than their opponents when they faced off against team Swagger for their final match of the day. This was emphasized by the fact that the A/C ducts were being worked on during the day of the matches, so the only cool air competitors had in the gym were a few large fans. Teams came out trading buckets early, but Roman proved that by now he was red hot as he put down another handful of three-point shots even making consecutive baskets from nearly the same spot. His efficient Game Three performance along with great teamwork and energy allowed the Ball Brothers to finish the day with a perfect record, taking Game Three 11-3.
Meanwhile, teammates became foes as Owen and Valenzuela had to now face off against members they had each played one game with as the Trash Pandas took on team Got Sweat in My Eye. This match was intriguing because it was very evenly matched by size which meant execution would make all the difference for the winner. Brandon Chapa from the Trash Pandas showed some aggressive and great overall defense in his best attempt to give them an edge, but the ability to score anywhere on the floor from Rosales, Valenzuela, and Jean Laura proved to be the deciding factor as they went on a run to end an exciting matchup with a win, taking the game 11-6 over the Trash Pandas to help Got Sweat in My Eye claim a second place position heading into next week’s games.
After the games Del Mar student and competitor Roman Livas to gain insight into what competing in an Intramural competition was like. “It was fun, this is a cool way to meet new people at the college,” Roman Livas said of the Intramural competition afterward. “I think we have what it takes to win it all, we’re all very competitive. Team Swagger was tired by the last game today but they’re really good so next time around they’ll be more challenging.”
The Ball Brothers will look to continue their success next week on Monday, Feb. 17 as their first game of the day will be against team Got Sweat in My Eye who will be looking for revenge after losing only to the Ball Brothers on day one. The games will run from 2:30-4 p.m. and is open to the public.
