The basketball courts near the MSA Arena are about to become a lot more busy starting Friday afternoon.
The return of the MSA Outdoor Classic basketball tournament runs from Friday until Sunday, when the winning team will be crowned at the championship game at 4:30 p.m.
A total of eight teams are participating, with the teams separated into two pools for round-robin play. Each team plays three games in the round robin, with the top four teams squaring off in a final four to determine a winner.
Local talent is set to be on display during the MSA Outdoor Classic, with several Abbotsford residents who have played in the CIS, NCAA and even professionally participating in the event.
Some of the local talent includes: Marak Klassen (Yale Secondary, Point Loma-NCAA and the British Basketball League), Jakob Doerkson (Rick Hansen Secondary, Trinity Western University and professionally in Germany), Riley Braich (Yale and recent commit to UFV), Matt Mills (Bateman and UNBC), Mitch Howden (W.J. Mouat Secondary and UNBC), Matt Brar (Abby Senior and UPEI), Tristain Etienne (Mouat Secondary and University of Washington), JJ Pankratz (Yale and SFU) and Jordyn Sekhon (Mouat and recent commit to UFV).
The format for the tournament is four-on-four, with six to 10 players on each team’s roster.
All proceeds raised from the event are being donated to Canuck Place Children’s Hospice in Abbotsford.
The event came about after Yale teacher Ace Brar told his son Matt Brar and his friends Jamie Konrad and Mitch Howden about the event, which ran for several years in the early 1980s. His stories about the past tournament inspired the three to bring it back.
The event is free for spectators to watch. For more information, follow the event on Twitter @MSA_Classic.
