The Nike Hyperdunk sample was showcased at the run last Thursday.

Every Thursday, Manny Maldonado organizes a nice invite-only run at the Boys Club of New York on 10th St. and Ave. A in the Lower. The objective is to unite entertainment/apparel industry folks with the BCNY staff in order to make connections that ultimately help the city’s youth. For example, NBA player Jalen Rose donated $10,000 to the program after Vibe magazine used the BCNY Jefferson Park (Harlem) location for a photo shoot because his PR rep was present and respected what Mr. Maldonado was doing. It was a beautiful gesture.

As wonderful as the relationship has been, the actual Thursday games can get very heated!
Bounce contributing writer Jonathan Lopez does a weekly write-up of the run, and we introduce it to you for the first time this week:

Sean, Sam, Tim “Headache” Gittens, Amar and the Physical City High School Alumnus – Ralph – orchestrated quite the dynasty finishing with a stellar est. 6-1 record on the night. However, their streak did not come without controversy. First of all, they were a pretty angry bunch. They argued a high % of the calls, with Sean leading the debates and Amar cosigning. Nevertheless, they were unselfish, defended well and accumulated victory after victory.

The top play nominees include:

Ralph – aka Physical City – drained a game-winning jumper in Jon’s grill (yes I’m using the 3rd person to refer to myself now); Bobbito easily led all guards in assists, dropping dime after dime to streaky shooters & creating shots for his teammates; In arguably the game of the night, Jon, Bobbito, the new guy in the green sweats (shout out to LES), Kenny Defense and Anibal pushed the said dynasty to the limit in an intense battle where the game was knotted at 6 (point game) for several possessions before they were outlasted after Jon missed a clutch J; Emilio entered the gym at 99 mph and never slowed down – he zoomed by Sean on one particular play for an unorthodox scoop-d-loop; Manny, Will, J, Emilio and Tony handed this week’s dynasty their only loss before giving Jon and them their first (only) win; and last but not least, The Great Debater of the Week Award goes to – by unanimous decision – the man, the myth, the legend: Manny Maldonado; Manny led a 90 minute mid-game intermission to argue vehemently with Will over who should shoot when & why, the irony is that they were actually teammates; Manny didn’t stop there, in a later game he argued Headache out of a point, sparking the eye of the tiger in Headache that lead to a pair of treys, ultimately sending Manny to the bench.

Not-so-top play nominees include:

It wouldn’t be right if Sean didn’t sell out on another wide open lay-up that he pretended to ‘dunk’; While we’re talking about Sean, after restraining himself from his characteristic teeth-sucks (pause) and flagrant facial expressions for at least one week, Sean proceeded to make up for lost time with a barrage of ostentatious complaints; Ralph revealed his alma mater (Physical City HS); Jon endured a 1-4ish record on the night; Manny’s multiple debate sessions; quite possibly the number 1 not-so-top play nominee took place on the bench where Kenny, Jon and Bobbito were sitting & observing a debate when just as a brief silence emerges so does an aggressively audible rip from Bobbito’s bowel system; On his fart, Bobbito had this to say for himself, “That’s a smog for your blog!”

Jonathan Lopez

For info on donating or volunteering at the Boys Club, contact Manny Maldonado: mmaldonado@jefferson.bcny.org