Area teams burn up Hoops on Fire tourney
From Bollingbrook to Plano. From Plainfield to Aurora and everywhere in between.
Thirty teams from across the area put their basketball skills to the test Saturday for the Hoops on Fire 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. Triple Threat partnered with the city of Aurora, CIS and others to put on the 6th annual tournament.
The tournament filled 5 full basketball courts /10 half courts, as teams honed their skills on the court, ages ranging from 4th grade through High School. The West Aurora High School gym and field house were filled with intense young athletes and cheering families as game competition and 3pt shoot-outs heated things up.
The tournament was a “Double Elimination” which means a team can’t be bumped from the tournament without losing 2 times. We had 2 teams that went undefeated: Fireballs (from Bolingbrook) in Boys 4th-5th grade, and IBA (from Wheaton, Aurora & Plano) in Boys 6th-8th grade! And 1st place Aurora Elite won out of the loser bracket to take the championship in the High School bracket!
As the indoor temperature continued to rise throughout the day, no doubt the most popular vendor was Oberweis Dairy, giving out free ice cream samples. Concessions hummed along under the management of volunteer Angi Abbott. And Jason Switt just seemed to be everywhere, coordinating scorekeepers and helping to manage brackets and game tracking. And a special thanks to Doug Lambert who ended up being the referee of the day, with at least 6-8 games under his belt by the time everything was done!
But smiling faces of kids, team high fives to each other, and a building filled with kids having a great time told the final story. Special thanks to CIS, the City of Aurora, Nike, PowerBar, Pepsi and Gatorade for their contributions.
TOURNAMENT RECAP
The Fireballs from Bolingbrook took first in the boys 4th-5th grade division, with the Lakers from East Aurora coming in second.
IBA — which was composed of players from Wheaton, Aurora and Plano — took the title for boys 6th-8th grade. Storm from St. Charles took second place honors.
In the boys high school division, Aurora Elite from West Aurora took the championship. To do so, they had to beat second-place team Marley Cuts from West Auorra twice. They did so to claim first place.
Here’s a few photos from the event. Check out our Facebook page or our gallery for more photos.
