A preview to NABA, the largest Inter-city Basketball Tournament in the Nation
WASHINGTON, DC (March 25, 2012) The spectacle of FYBA’s 5th year Spring-Summer league opening ceremony wowed the audience and gave a glimpse of the organization’s readiness to host the largest inter-city basketball tournament in the country. This coming Labor Day 2012 holiday weekend, a huge event will take place in the Washington DC area as FYBA hosts the 2012 North American Basketball Association (NABA) Inter-City Basketball Tournament. No less than 24 cities from US, Canada and London, England will be participating in this 2-day annual tournament. This year’s event is even more exciting as it highlights two momentous milestones: NABA’s 25th Anniversary and FYBA’s 5th Anniversary celebration.
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Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia witnessed an extraordinary Sunday on March 18th. With over 600 Filipino Americans gathered, FYBA’s opening ceremony felt like witnessing an actual NBA All-Star weekend show–filled with a variety of talents, a full program complete with professional lighting and special effects, audio and video setup. A first of its kind in the local basketball tournament league. A special keynote speaker, Monique Lewis from the Washington Mystics organization, delivered a simple yet encouraging speech to the Filipino American players present to pursue their dreams through hard work, positive attitude, and true team spirit. “Never give up in trying your best. Treat yourself, your coach, parents, teammates, even opponents with respect. Work hard and have fun. At the end of the day, it’s your passion and attitude that will define your character and success in sports and in life,” said the young but truly inspiring Lewis, a former student-athlete herself
Thirty games ensued after the program. Most if not all were exciting and thrilling, to say the least. Particularly, the first game ever of the newly formed FYBA Damsels (13 under girls team) who will compete in the 2012 NABA tournament come September. The game had the loudest cheer especially when it went into overtime as the girls gave their hearts out. They may have lost by two points against the veteran Peewee team, but they surely came out as winners in team spirit. In the other courts, as always, the Mosquito games were fun as ever with eager 4-year old toddlers running around every which way with their parents in tow.
As a show of appreciation and giving back to the community for their unwavering support throughout the five years of its existence, the FYBA community, with the help of its volunteers and benevolence of its sponsors, enjoyed a delightful and overflowing supply of sumptuous lunch and snacks.
FYBA has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings back in September 2007. FYBA was born out of a common love and dedication for the sport of basketball by a handful of people, led by its current president, Russell Casapao. It has now evolved not only as a youth basketball organization but also has become a community-based, non-profit institution, run professionally by a wider group of dedicated and selfless parent-volunteers entirely, raising the bar for all community organizations in the Metropolitan Washington DC area.
Contact: Tess Malagar, Public Relations Officer email – publicrelations@fybaonline.com
