Anybody who’s ever played hoops knows how much fun a game of three-on-three can be. There are just enough players to make the game strategically challenging, but not so many that anybody gets left out of the action.
This weekend, in an effort to bring together kids from all over Monmouth County and put some excitement into what might be a day of the doldrums, the Pilgrim Baptist Church, in conjunction with a handful of other organizations, is putting on a three-on-three tournament at Count Basie Courts.
The event is open kids aged 9 to 18. Registration is at 8a, and walk-ons are welcome; the fee is $5 per person, though scholarships are available to anyone who can’t pay. Games start at 8:30 and run until about 1p.
The tourney will have boys’ and girls’ divisions, and each team will be slotted into one of four age groups. Teams are allowed to have up to four players, so substitutions are allowed.
The event, which has the support of the Red Bank Parks & Rec Department, the Community YMCA and others, was the idea of Pilgrim Baptist’s pastor, Rev. Terrence K. Porter, who put on similar events at his prior congregation, Fountain Baptist Church in Summit.
Porter says he hopes to make the event an annual one, always to follow the July 4 holiday.
“It’s just another way of reaching out to the community,” says Porter, “and of giving kids something to do at a time when there might be nothing available to them at the moment.”
The courts are at Count Basie Field, accessible via Henry Street for those traveling on Newman Springs Road and via Pearl Street for those traveling on Drs. Parker Boulevard.
In case of rain, head over to the Salvation Army facility on Newman Springs Road.
