By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Over the weekend of July 25 and 26, the Tulalip Teen Center hosted an ages 16 and up, 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Originally slated to be an All-Native tournament, it was amended to ‘open’ status, meaning anyone could play, last minute in order to field enough teams for ample competition. Similar to the very popular Hoopfest tournament held in Spokane every year, the Tulalip 3-on-3 featured multiple games being played at the same time, all made baskets inside the 2-point arc count as one point, while all made baskets outside the 3-point arc count as two points, and the winning team is determined by the first to score 21 points (must win by two).
In total there were 12 teams who participated in the Tulalip 3-on-3, varying in age and ability. While teams were primarily comprised of Native players, most from Tulalip, there were also Natives from Lummi, Puyallup, Yakama, and Metlakatla, Alaska. The open status of the tournament made it possible for D-II collegiate basketball player Juwan Buchanan, of Adams State University, to showcase his talents on the Tulalip hardwood. The non-native Buchanan is originally from Seattle, WA and was in the area participating in the 2015 Seattle Basketball Pro-Am, one of the premier competitive summer men’s basketball leagues in the United States. Needless to say that with his talents, his team was the early favorite to win it all.
To facilitate the most entertaining and competitive tournament possible, tournament coordinator Lonnie Enick tweaked the day one schedule from single elimination games to pool play on Saturday and moved the single elimination games, based on seeding, to Sunday. All the hoopers enthusiastically agreed with the decision because it meant each team would be playing five games on Saturday and would be guaranteed at least one more game on Sunday. A six game guarantee for only a $100 buy-in per team is major deals for any basketball tournament.
Day one of pool play got started at 9:00 a.m. and went very smoothly, with the more talented teams getting their reps in for the day to come, while the less competitive teams enjoyed being able to spend the day just having fun while playing basketball. After the day’s pool play was over, the seedings were determined for the day two single elimination bracket.
Day two games kicked off at 9:30 a.m. and saw some very competitive games be played. There were even some upsets to be had, as a Tulalip team lead by brothers Monnie and Nate Williams managed to defeat the undefeated Yakama team who featured two 6’7 collegiate players.
When it was all said and done, the championship game saw Buchanan’s team matchup against a Tulalip team featuring Bradley Fryberg and Shawn Sanchey. It was a highly competitive game that had its moments with players get testy due to the 1st place and cash grand prize of $600 on the line. In fact, from the early going each team seemingly matched every point scored by the other. In the final moments, the game was tied 20-20, and with the game on the line Fryberg had a chance to win the game on a 3-point attempt that was just short. Buchanan would score the next point for his team to take a 21-20 lead and, after another Tulalip miss, he found a wide-open teammate for the game winning bucket. Final score 22-20 for the 3-on-3 tournament champs, Team Buchanan.
Photo/Micheal Rios
Contact Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov