The latest chapter in the Dolphin Basketball Classic gets underway Friday afternoon.
The 31st annual four-on-four outdoor tournament will make its debut at the South Arm Community Centre — just a few blocks away from the tiny neighbourhood park where the event was established. It has spent the past several years at the Thompson Community Centre before organizers had a chance to bring it closer to its original roots.
Games will take place on South Arm’s two polypropylene Sport Court surfaces that were built back in 2010.
“It’s really exciting to be back in our old neighbourhood, at least being in the same neck of the woods where this all started,” said Bruce Watson. “The Thompson group was tremendous to us but this just feels right and (South Arm area coordinator) Steve (Mahon) has been amazing to work with.
“We wanted a more intimate setting like we had back at Dolphin and the set-up is going to provide that”
It’s Watson’s job to finalize the entires for the men’s and women’s divisions. It’s a task that keeps his phone ringing right up until the tournament tip-off and requires him to even take time off from work. The Dolphin organizers don’t accept any team as they want to insure the calibre of play remains extremely high — typically top players from the university and college ranks, along with many who have gone on to play professionally around the world.
This year is no exception.
“It’s going to be a very competitive weekend,” predicts Watson. “You’re going to see some players up here from the Seattle area and that has really added to the tournament in recent years.”
The Dolphin Classic will feature 10 teams competing in the men’s division and five in the women. Games get underway at 5 p.m. on Friday and continue right through to the men’s championship game at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The women’s final is slated for 5 p.m. while the ever-popular slam dunk and 3-point contests will take place between the finals.
Here are some of the teams to watch this weekend:
Men’s
Academy: Reached the finals last year, led by former UBC standout and European pro Doug Plumb.
AthElite: A perennial power that never can be counted out. Aman Heran is one of the purest shooters in tournament history and defending 3-point champion.
TRU: Look for Scott Clark to have a very competitive team after leading TRU to the CIS Final Eight last season.
Running Rebels: Captain Steve Lee’s squad can also be counted into the playoff picture come Sunday afternoon.
Rapid Motors: Look for this team to have a heavy Seattle University flavour. Captain Roopi Clair is the brother of Redhawks junior and former Burnaby South star Manroop Clair.
AIA: Another solid entry, led by former Yale star and provincial MVP Marek Klassen who is currently playing pro in Great Britain after an impressive collegiate career at Point Loma.
SB Battle: Jelani Mohammed’s squad has enjoyed plenty of success on the outdoor men’s baseball circuit.
Women’s
Chaos: Seattle University grad Elle Kerfoot leads her team back as defending champions.
Fusion: The 2014 champions look to recapture the title, led by former Bishops star Katy Germain.
Cascades: A squad built around the University of the Fraser Valley women’s team makes its tournament debut.
At the buzzer…
The Richmond Youth Basketball League (RYBL) has partnered up with Dolphin this year to run its own tournament this week. It will conclude with the semi-finals (9 a.m.) and championship game (4 p.m.) on Saturday as part of the Dolphin schedule.
