Teams from around the area competed in the Carlyle 1st Basketball Tournament held on July 30 and 31 at Carlyle Elementary School. The organizer of the event, Benny Caan, said "the tournament was absolutely a success" with representatives from throughout the region attending.
The eight teams participating in the tournament included Carlyle, Oxbow, Kipling/Moosomin, three teams from Estevan and two teams from Weyburn. Caan said the tournament was a success in more ways than one. "For our culture, most Filipinos play basketball. So, it was a great way to bring all of our neighbouring people in to see our community. You just have to pick the right game and it brings people together."
"We had a big crowd throughout the day. There were people on hand both days. What we decided to do was make the draw following the opening ceremonies. That way, all teams were there already and there was support for the teams during their games. It was good because it felt like a tournament and it brought people to our community for two full days."
"We had a big crowd here throughout the weekend. We had the Mayor on hand to welcome the Filipino teams to Carlyle and he invited them to tour around the town. He also provided a few words of sportsmanship before we started the weekend. And at the end of the day, everyone was very happy. And Carlyle got a lot of credit for hosting the tournament this year."
A full two days of basketball resulted in a third place battle between the Oxbow team and the Estevan Vikings with the Vikings winning the game with a final score of 61-55 in double overtime. The final game saw the Weyburn 1 team win the championship game with a defeat over the Kipling/Moosomin team with a final score of 57-45.
Following the basketball games was the presentation of awards where Certificates of Participation were handed out to all teams competing. The championship trophy was presented to the Weyburn 1 team with second place awarded to the Kipling/Moosomin team. The third place trophy was given to the Estevan Vikings.
In addition, the Kipling/Moosomin team was presented with the Sportsmanlike award. The Mythical Five was presented to Robert Cuz of Oxbow, Melvin Pineda of Estevan Vikings, Hanzel Hizon of Kipling/Moosomin, as well as Jundel Batbatan and Alvin Rara from Weyburn 1. The most valuable player was given to Boyet Pacada of the champion Weyburn 1 team.
