Mission Basketball's annual 3-on-3 tournament continues to grow but the tradition of bringing together generations of local hoopers remains at its root.
The 3rd Annual King of the Court 3x3 Tournament returns to Heritage Park Middle School next weekend (Aug. 8-11) for all age groups.
"We're bringing the community together from kids who are 10 years old up to adults who all grew up playing here. So it's nice to see all the different generations coming together for a tournament," Mission Basketball co-founder Anil Sharma said.
While the first two years featured largely Mission teams, more squads are signing up from Abbotsford and Surrey this time around.
"It's fun, competitive and it's really about the kids. What it boils down to is the love of the game," Sharma said.
Registration for the tournament wraps up on Tuesday (July 30) with the schedule finalized shortly after. The younger age groups will play on Wednesday (Aug. 7) and Thursday (Aug. 8) with the older groups hitting the court until Sunday (Aug. 11).
Participants can also try their hand at a 3-point competition sponsored by Young Guns Weightlifting Club and a half-court competition sponsored by Haven CPAs.
The event will feature music from DJ Leeps, free food and drinks, raffle prizes including a basketball hoop, and Mission Basketball merchandise for sale.
Sponsors for the tournament include Nationwide Fuel, the Vancouver Bandits, Sluz Cap the City of Mission and more.
"All the money we were able to generate for the tournament is being put back towards participants with free food and drinks for the kids and tons of prizes," Sharma said.
Sharma says interest in basketball is at an all-time high in Mission and only growing.
"There's such a demand for the basketball here. We just need more resources surrounding the sport, from coaches to summer facilities or after-school facilities – things of that nature," Sharma said.
Registration is open at bit.ly/46iTgnP.
