A Summerland team won at a three-on-three basketball tournament held in Kelowna earlier this month.
The FYBA Summer Jam 3×3 Tournament was open to boys and girls from Grade 4 to Grade 12. It was held at Kelowna City Park Sept. 4 to 5.
The winning team, The Summerlandians, consisted of Lake City Basketball teammates Peter Kunka, 14; Dezi Ducheck, 14 and Mateo Ducheck, 12. All three athletes are students or graduates of Summerland Middle School.
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Leading up to the playoff final they won four out of five games. Their only loss in the lead up games was to the team they would eventually face in the final. The underdogs won the final game, handing the only loss to the other team out of Kelowna in a score of 21-9.
The Summerlandians went into the tournament with only three players — no substitutes — while all the other teams had one to three subs. This forced the Summerland team to remain injury-free in a more intense physical style of basketball without the breaks to recover. There were nine teams in the division.
The Summerlandians have been working on their skills year-round with the Lake City Basketball Club out of Penticton and it paid off in the tournament where the younger Summerland team had to use their speed, fitness and skill to outplay their opponents.
“This was our first 3×3 tournament and it was really fun,” Kunka said. “Dezi, Mateo and I have spent a lot of time shooting hoops at the outdoor court at the middle school this summer, which really helped our chemistry on the court.”
Three-on-three basketball has different rules than traditional five-on-five basketball and is now an Olympic sport. It’s known for its exciting high-paced action. Games are 25 minutes long or the first to 21 points. Each basket is worth one point. A shot from the three-point line is worth two points.
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