If you’re down, it doesn’t mean you’re out

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Either nobody from Gig Harbor attended the world’s biggest 3-on-3 tournament in the world, or my column last week didn’t have the effect I hoped it might.

Nevertheless, my experience at Hoopfest, held annually in downtown Spokane, was amazing.

Since I didn’t receive any leads on how any of the local teams fared, I’m compelled to share my story about the tournament.

I made the five-hour drive with some of my friends on Friday morning. We had an 8 a.m. basketball game on Saturday so I tried to sleep. But I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked; people call it the Hoopfest jitters.

Even the fans who aren’t playing get them, too.

The fact that it was going to be the biggest Hoopfest in terms of team registrations made the weekend that much more intense. There were news reports of approximately 140,000 people downtown last weekend.

Our team name was the Tacoma Boys. Each one of us was raised in Tacoma, so we thought the name was fitting.

Mike, Matt, Keanu and myself were in the competitive 6-foot-and-under league.

Last year, my team finished 3-2. This year, we wanted to do better. The goal was to win the championship.

After an exhilarating ride of ups and downs throughout the tournament, we finished fourth in our bracket with a final record of 4-2.

Not bad, huh?

While the outcome was something to be proud of, the beginning was humiliating.

We got torched on Saturday, 20-9. It was a team we had played the year before, too. The odds of playing the same team seemed pretty long, considering the volume of teams this year.

The Roundball Junkies were on fire the entire game. They made nearly every two-point shot (normal baskets are one point and shots from the 3-point line are worth two points), and they shot a very high percentage.

Our chances of winning Hoopfest nearly died after we lost the first game. We were in a loser-out scenario for the rest of the tournament.

After winning our second game, we had to win again to extend our tourney play into Sunday.

We were facing Cowboys and Indians for a chance to return the next day. We were losing by two points with less than one minute left in the game. I caught the ball at the top of the perimeter, made a move to the right and used my off arm to create some space for two-point shot.

With time ticking away, I knew that if I missed the shot, our dreams of getting to the championships might be gone.

The ball sank through the net with a quiet swish, tying the game.

Then the game went into overtime. The first team to score two points would win.

We lost the coin toss but played good defense and got an opportunity to score. One of my teammates kicked the ball out to me.

I was open for a two-point shot to end the game in overtime, and I nailed it near the far corner of the perimeter.

The moment I released the ball from my hand, I knew it had a shot of going in. It’s a feeling shooters get when they see the trajectory and the angle of the ball as it heads toward the basketball hoop.

When it went in, I let out a scream. I was extremely fatigued from the 100-degree weather and barely had enough energy to smile.

My teammates congratulated me, as our hopes of playing again were saved.

Sinking the game-winning shot in overtime during Hoopfest was a pretty remarkable feeling.

Unfortunately, we lost on Sunday in another overtime battle in even hotter weather conditions that ended our Hoopfest journey to the finals.

Although my team was disappointed after losing a game that could have gone either way, we left it all out on the court. We put in as much effort into winning as we could muster. We improved our record compared to years before.

This year, our team persevered after losing the first game. We battled back from huge deficits in two consecutive games and never game up.

It’s nice to know that when things aren’t going well, hard work and determination can turn things around.

That concept can be applied to just about anything life throws at you.

Reach Sports Editor Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246 or by e-mail at marques.hunter@gateline.com.