Ballerz win 3-on-3 basketball in Othello
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 hour, 13 minutes AGO
A player from the Ballers finds himself with a clear opening to make a layup at the basket during the Fourth of July 3-on-3 tourney.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
One of the Ball Brothas players prepares to make a shot at the net while warming up Saturday afternoon.
A player from the Ritz Runners looks to make his way past a Ballers player in the first round of the Fourth of July tournament.
A player from the Ballerz goes in for the layup during Saturday’s 3-on-3 tourney.
OTHELLO — The annual 3-on-3 Fourth of July basketball tournament was held at Lions Park on Saturday afternoon. The tournament featured four teams on a double elimination bracket fighting for the championship title.
“I think it went well,” said Jackie Wilhelm, Executive Director at the Othello Chamber of Commerce. “We as a chamber always rely on volunteers and then just them wanting to help and be part of the event.”
This year the teams volunteered to help organize and run the tournament play. The high school players helped create the double elimination bracket for the chamber and the adult team in the bracket ensured play went smoothly in games throughout the competition.
“We were kind of struggling trying to figure it out and once we asked them, they stepped in and were like, ‘Yeah we do this all the time,’” said Wilhelm.
The Ballerz, one of the high school teams, came out on top of the bracket to become the Fourth of July champions. The tournament was split the pot so the winning team got to take home $200 while the other $200 went back to help fund community activities.
One of the main goals as the chamber already begins planning for next year is to get more teams involved in the tournament. Wilhelm said efforts have already begun with the teams who participated this year to begin recruiting more teams.
Bringing in more participants into future tournaments is something she said will help grow the tournament to be more competitive into the future. For future tournaments she wants to spend more time promoting sign-ups and look into bringing in someone with experience with the local basketball community to help organize the event.
With the help of the high schoolers and others experienced with basketball down the line, she hopes that the tournament will become a staple of the summer.
“It really takes a village and a lot of them sounded excited to want to do that with us next year,” Wilhelm said. “I’m looking forward to that because I know there’s a big interest for basketball.”
One of the Ball Brothas players prepares to make a shot at the net while warming up Saturday afternoon.
A player from the Ritz Runners looks to make his way past a Ballers player in the first round of the Fourth of July tournament.
A player from the Ballerz goes in for the layup during Saturday’s 3-on-3 tourney.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Ballerz win 3-on-3 basketball in Othello
OTHELLO — The annual 3-on-3 Fourth of July basketball tournament was held at Lions Park Saturday afternoon. The tournament featured four teams on a double elimination bracket fighting for the championship title. “I think it went well,” said Jackie Wilhelm, Executive Director at the Othello Chamber of Commerce. “We as a chamber always rely on volunteers and then just them wanting to help and be part of the event.”
WA Rage begin summer softball play finishing third in Spokane
MOSES LAKE — The Washington Rage 16u softball team got their summer season started at the Fourth of July Shootout tournament in Spokane where the team finished third. The Rage looks to find further success as they battle in weekend tournaments through the end of July. “For our first tournament out this season I thought it was pretty good,” said Rage Head Coach Bob Richardson. The Rage started out the weekend against the Spokane Diamonds Herbert. The Diamonds got on the board first with run in the bottom of the third and the Rage responded in the top of the fourth as Kylie Christiansen hit a line drive to score Malorie Lane.
Othello celebrates the Fourth of July
OTHELLO — Lions Park was a busy place Saturday as people from all around the basin gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July. Festivities began at 10 a.m. with the parade down Main Street and continued through the evening, concluding with a fireworks ceremony. “It was definitely a success,” said Jackie Wilhelm, Executive Director for the Othello Chamber of Commerce. “For me one of my favorite things is the parade and just knowing that it’s grown so much from four years ago when I started as the director.” This year’s parade was the largest and longest yet with 55 total entries and some having multiple vehicles, said Wilhelm.