On Saturday, July 18, 2009, the Inside Streetball Invitational (ISBI) kicked off its first ever Tournament of NYC Streetball Champions at Dyckman Park. Kenny Stevens and Ralph Pena both of Dyckman helped make the tournament possible at that renowned court located right off the 1 train (Dyckman St). The film crew was in full effect during the hot afternoon hours as the cameras kept rolling and the teams kept playing. Each team battled to get a chance to win $7,500 with an additional $2,500 given to the winning team’s championship tournament from 2008. The Inside Streetball Invitational recognized the United Parcel Service (UPS) and Anaconda Sports (makes infamous basketballs with “The Rock” on them) as the main sponsors for the tournament.

2008 Champions | Tournaments:
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*Bingo’s All-Stars – Dyckman
*Kingdome – Kingdome
*Money Train – Tri-State Classic
*Play Da Game – Watson Classic
*R2K – Hoops in the Sun (H.I.T.S.)
*Sean Bell All-Stars – Entertainer’s Basketball Classic (EBC)
*Team 914 – Gunhill Classic
*X-Men – West 4th Street

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Results:

DAY 1 – SATURDAY | JULY 18th
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[FIRST ROUND - Money Train vs. X-Men]
Queens-based Money Train battled against the infamous X-Men from Brooklyn in the first game of the ISBI. The X-Men came out ready with 15 players on the roster! Only seven players were inked in the scorebook with numbers but that didn’t phase the 2008 champions from West 4th Street. They came out to a confident 54-51 lead at halftime with Brooklynites in the crowd and even an announcer from the BK in attendance. It wasn’t enough as Money Train capitalized on missed shots by the X-Men, worked the ball around the perimeter, and broke away in the third quarter. Although they came back, the X-Men could not get the win, falling 98-97. Miguel “Miles High / The Videogame” Millan scored 29 points with some monster dunks and Mike “The King of NY / Mr. Smooth / The Icon” Campbell had 28 points with 7 coming from free throws. For Money Train, Yatta Gaines led the way and finished with 23 points. Antawn “Anti-Freeze” Dobie dropped 17 points, and Corey “The Undertaker” Underwood and John “The Franchise” Strickland” both contributed 14 points.

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[FIRST ROUND - Bingo's All-Stars vs. R2K]
This matchup looked like something out of a Hoops in the Sun (H.I.T.S.) game as “Bingo Corleone AKA The Godfather of Streetball” squared away against the defending champs from H.I.T.S. Bingo’s team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. R2K received performances both offensively and defensively from players like Nick Murphy and Geddes Robinson. In the end, Bingo’s squad held it down with his elusive lineup of all-star players. Mike “Optimus Prime” Glover singlehandedly dominated the game, as he has been doing all summer. Glover scored 35 points and if rebounds were recorded–he would have tallied a double-double in the first quarter! No related brother of the same last name, Anthony Glover picked up 12 points and contributed to the cleanup on the boards. Bingo’s All-Stars defeated R2K in the second game, 84-77.

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[FIRST ROUND - Play Da Game vs. Sean Bell All-Stars]
It was a team effort as the Watson Classic’s 2008 champs, Play Da Game (PDG), established a 41-32 advantage at halftime. Former Georgetown point guard Jessie Sapp scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half to help PDG hold its lead but Coach Raheem “Lil Rah” Wiggins of Sean Bell would not have it and turned up the intensity for his team. PDG was held to 30 second half points–almost the same amount of points that Sean Bell All-Stars scored in each quarter in the second half (28 points in both 3rd and 4th quarters). Former Cardozo HS and Boston College standout Duane “20″ Woodward finished the game with 23 points, and fellow teammate “Flex” contributed 15 points in pushing the Sean Bell All-Stars to a win, 88-75.

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[FIRST ROUND - Kingdome vs. Team 914]
Kingdome tournament director Honcho was in attendance to see Kingdome take on Team 914 in the last game game on Saturday. Although team Kingdome only had five players in attendance to play, they kept up with Team 914 throughout the stretch, trailing by single digits at times. Kingdome, which was led by Huron aka H2O’s 33 points, dropped triple digits in the fourth–impressive for a team of only five. Although all Kingdome players scored in double digits, Team 914 used the fatigue factor to their advantage by outrunning and outmanning Kingdome, 114-104. Darren “DP / Primal Fear” Philip attacked the basket and scored 23 of his 27 total points in the second half to close the game for his squad. Will “Silence of the Lambs” Cadiz added 19 points, and James “Stixx” Williams contributed 18 points in the win.

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DAY 2 – SUNDAY | JULY 19th
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[SEMIFINALS - Money Train vs. Bingo's All-Stars]
In an epic battle of two great streetball teams, Money Train took on Bingo’s All-Stars in the first game of Sunday to determine who goes to the Inside Streetball Invitational Final game. Bingo’s team was stacked as usual. Antawn “Anti-Freeze” Dobie and Jason “J-Hi” McLeish provided the stability for Money Train at the guard positions along with John “The Franchise” Strickland serving as a body in the paint and the energy spark to get the fans talking. Both teams started the game bucket-for-bucket, almost matching each jumper, 3-pointer, and free throws down the stretch in the first half. At the end of the 2nd quarter, Bingo’s team was ahead by only 2 points with thanks to Gary Erving and Mike Glover’s combined 20 point effort. In addition, Erving was dishing dimes and Glover locked down the big men on defense. Bingo’s All-Stars pushed the lead to 7 points at the end of the 3rd quarter despite The Franchise scoring 10 of Money Train’s 19 3rd quarter points. Veteran coaching and on-court leadership (Kenny “Serious Satellite / K-Sat” Satterfield & Charles “Stone Cold” Jones) was the difference in determining the outcome of the game. Bingo’s All-Stars held onto the lead and remained victorious over Money Train, 97-93, in a well fought game with heart. The highlight of the game came when Ryan “Special FX” Williams showed up and dunked so hard that he hit his head on the rim! The game had to be stopped for about 10 minutes due to Williams’ gash in his head. Luckily, Special FX was okay after applying some first aid and a huge band-aid.

High Scorers:

Bingo’s All-Stars
Gary Erving – 24 points
Charles Jones – 17 points
Mike Glover – 17 points

Money Train
Antawn Dobie – 22 points
Jason McLeish – 21 points
John Strickland – 18 points

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[SEMIFINALS - Sean Bell All-Stars vs. Team 914]
In the other game to determine who has what it takes to play in the Inside Streetball Invitational final game, Sean Bell All-Stars matched up against Team 914. In a game with team-oriented players, both squads applied defensive pressure and counted on quality shooting. Bryce Ossey, (or “Action Figure” according to MC Joe Pope) of Sean Bell, scored 16 points of his 19 total in the first half, mostly on patient open-looks and put-backs on misses. With John “Mookie” Thomas and Aaron “The Problem” Williams’ accurate passing, legendary Junie “General Electric” Sanders connected and added 21 points, but Darren “Primal Fear” Philip was the lifeline for Team 914. He finished with 30 points–layups, put-backs, free-throws, jumpers, ANYTHING-ANYWHERE! Although Team 914 looked solid, Coach Rah reconfigured his plan. BJ “The Beast” McFarlane (12 points) cleaned up on the boards and acted as an example for the hard work that Sean Bell players needed to apply. The game was neck-and-neck but in the end Sean Bell All-Stars pulled away for a 74-70 victory in overtime against Team 914 in the semifinals.

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[FINAL - Sean Bell All-Stars vs. Bingo's All-Stars]
Sean Bell All-Stars and Bingo’s All-Stars earned spots in the final for two reasons: outstanding coaching and great team play. Bingo’s starting five were crucial throughout the game as they united for the perfect combination of scoring, rebounding, passing, communicating, and getting the job done. Sean Bell All-Stars on the other hand provided consistency as a team. No one was bigger than the team. Although Duane “20″ Woodward was the only player who scored in true double digits with 22 points, Sean Bell All-Stars worked the ball around and fought for every basket. Coach Rah showed his enthusiasm throughout the game–arguing calls, hyping up players, and talking to the crowd. Unfortunately at halftime, Sean Bell All-Stars were down by 14 points. It became a numbers game: Sean Bell scored almost as many points after 3 Quarters (42) than Bingo’s team scored at halftime (45). They never caught up to the fearsome five who scored ALL but 2 points on a roster of 10 players. Bingo’s All-Stars grabbed another title and $7,500 for their 79-64 win over Sean Bell All-Stars. Since Bingo’s team was representing their 2008 title at Dyckman, the very park in which they were playing, Kenny Stevens and Ralph Pena were rewarded $2,500 in their honor–a fitting end.

Fearsome Five:

Gary Erving – 21 points
Mike Glover – 19 points
Kenny Satterfield – 18 points
Charles Jones – 13 points
Anthony Glover – 6 points

Also, during the tournament, special thanks went out to the Dyckman summer youth who contributed to game operations, such as the scorebook, game clock, and set-up/clean-up. With them, as well as the Dyckman community, a positive atmosphere filled Dyckman Park to provide a successful event.

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FINAL SCORES:

–First Round–
Money Train 98, X-Men 97
Bingo’s All-Stars 84, R2K 77
Sean Bell All-Stars 88, Play Da Game 75
Team-914 114, Kingdome 104

–Semifinals–
Bingo’s All-Stars 97, Money Train 93
Sean Bell All-Stars 103, Team-914 97

–Final–
Bingo’s All-Stars 79, Sean Bell All-Stars 64