Pinelands haven’t forgotten their fallen.
Kirk Patrick and Ryan Maynard have been memorialised in basketball, as the Pine community is paying respect to the late national players via this weekend’s inaugural Patrick Maynard tournament at the Princess Royal court.
Community leader Patrick Tannis officially launched the tournament on Thursday after the US Embassy donated boxes of basketballs, jerseys, water bottles and bags as event sponsors.
“The tournament was the brainchild of a couple members of the Pinelands Sports Club who helped some of our youngsters to go get some exposure in New York and we then decided to host this tournament for three days to see how far it goes and get our young players fine-tuned,” explained head coach Renaldo Maughn.
“We have bigger plans for our youngsters because we are hoping that through tournaments like this that people can see footage of our players.
“But the tournament itself is a reminder of Ryan Maynard, who was very instrumental in getting these youngsters to the level they’re at right now. We decided to honour him and Kirk Patrick through this tournament in The Pine because of what they meant to the community through basketball,” he added.
The tournament started last night and features 12 teams playing full-court basketball in two 12-minute halves.
It’s set to conclude tomorrow night with the semi-finals, finals and a brief prize-giving ceremony on the same Princess Royal court.
“We’re looking forward to the tournament this weekend and for us it is a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of sports,” said US Embassy public affairs officer James Rodriguez.
“The United States is crazy about sports, particularly basketball. We get to showcase the important role that sports can play in the growth of young people. It teaches teamwork, confidence and life skills that will help you going forward.” (JM)