A free 3v3 basketball tournament: Buckets for the Bronx: 3v3 Community Classic for Bronx teens was held at the Apex Center at Lehman College on Saturday, Feb. 25. The event was organized by local community members, Jessica Altagracia Woolford, founder of Kingsbridge Unidos, and Haramritjot Singh, founder of Cash Cow NYC.

 

The tournament was open to local high school students aged 14-18 of all genders. It was free to enter and winners earned prizes, including three tickets to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, various cash prizes, two dozen brand-new Spalding basketballs, and exclusive Cash Cow NYC merchandise.

 

Altagracia Woolford described the event as electric and estimated that there were about a dozen games played over the course of the day across two divisions (14-16 and 16-18). She said she and Singh had been working on events together for a few months now, thinking about how they could bring more fun and more community care through play.

 

“Today is all about giving teens a chance to get together at a free tournament, play basketball, earn some cool prizes, but ultimately, the chance to come to Lehman College and see the campus here, think about what their future could look like,” Altagracia Woolford said. “It’s something that’s important to us as kids who grew up in Kingsbridge and in the neighborhood. How do we give back, but also challenge our youth to think about looking forward, and thinking about their futures? So, today’s been awesome.”

 

For his part, Singh said the event exceeded his every expectation. “When we originally started talking, I was envisioning just a few kids…..high school gym….and just a few games here and there, so to see how it came out, all organically, just grew and grew, and we were able to offer the kids a good tournament and we definitely had a great turnout, so I’m happy with it. It was crazy watching from overhead; you could see like every game taking place all at the same time. So, it was really amazing.”

 

Altagracia Woolford continued, “It was great to see some of the teens who left here grinning ear to ear because they had some cash in their pocket that they won. My favorite part of the day was definitely the kids who came in and like maybe they didn’t have a team, but then they came up and they’re like, ‘Oh, I found some people I want to play with.’ That was something we were just kind of toying around with, like how to create a positive experience where maybe some friendships could be forged. I definitely remember as a team playing in the courts and stuff, and you just kind of make friends.”

 

Singh said making friends was indeed a big part of the day. “Like just the joy aspect, especially after COVID, like, I always feel like I lost two birthdays. I’m 32 I feel like I’m 30. Where did those years go? So, giving kids a space to socialize after everyone was indoors for two years, I think it’s needed and it’s necessary, so I’m happy that we were able to provide that, and we’ll be back next year, bigger and better!”

 

Community members were also invited to stop by a drop-in bike repair workshop hosted by volunteers from the Bronx Bike Collective, to avail of basic repairs, safety checks, and to get their input and vision for a more bikeable Bronx. It followed a successful bike repair event previously organized by Kingsbridge Unidos and Cash Cow NYC, as reported. NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) officials were also on hand to provide helmets and resources on safety tips. The Bronx Bike Collective was recently selected to receive a 2023 Community Leader grant from the Citizens Committee of NYC.

 

“Ballin 4 Peace” lead a skills and drills workshop before tip-off began at 1 p.m., and the event was sponsored by Flava in Ya Hair Barbershop, Broadway Pizza and Pasta, Royalty Deli Grocery, Claudy’s, Live from the Bronx, Ranger Supply, and several other “generous,” individual donors, according to the organizers. “We didn’t really have to look too far,” said Singh. “You know, it was everyone that we knew or like a friend of a friend just chipped in and it was great.” Altagracia Woolford added, “People stepped up. It’s amazing.”

 

We later spoke to Gabriel Hernandez, 17, who was a player at the event and Lismari Castillo, 16, and Sofie Jimenez, 16, who were both volunteering as staffers. “I think it’s a good day for like building kind of community and just bringing people together that maybe haven’t interacted before,” said Sofie. “And it was successful to see teams winning, getting Knicks tickets. It was just a good day overall.”

 

Lismari also said the day was really fun in general. “I think it was fun for everyone because, you got to see new faces, make new friends, just talk to people in general, and it’s really nice. And you get to watch some basketball which is pretty good.”

 

Gabriel said he loved the energy. “It was so competitive. It was super fun. You know, everybody from the community was here. It was a great day.” Asked if he knew people before he came, he said, “Yeah, I know some people that were here. I told some of my friends to try out too, and we played against some people that we knew. It was all fine. They put some people on different teams. That was cool. You got to meet new people.”

 

We mentioned that the Knicks had organized some free basketball events in the Castle Hill area and elsewhere in the past and asked if the group had any words for the big New York teams about organizing similar events. “Wow! I’d say that we got to give more love to The Bronx, you know. This is like where all the, you know, the top… I wouldn’t say the top, but this is where all the, like, competitiveness and the love for basketball comes from, especially in New York. You gotta spread it around!”

 

We spoke to Emmanuel K Sarfo, one of the finalists on the day about the event. “So, it was really great for me because it shows I’ve been I’m improving,” he said. “I didn’t start playing basketball until I was, like, 9, and now I’m 15. There’s a lot of people but, you know, I made it to the finals and lost but you know, it’s just showing my progress and stuff like that.” Asked if he wanted to thank anyone, Emmanuel gave a shout out to Coach Dooby and Coach Josh from Ace High School in South Shore, Brooklyn. “They’ve been really a great help, and my family, and God.”

 

Altagracia Woolford and Singh both grew up in Kingsbridge and have known each other since their Head Start days in Marble Hill. Now they are both parents of young daughters they’re raising in the community that raised them. Kingsbridge Unidos is a mutual aid group that distributes fresh produce and more to families in the northwest Bronx while Cash Cow NYC is a lifestyle and clothing brand dedicated to honoring the Bronx and its people.

 

Altagracia Woolford, as reported, lost out to Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz when she ran for State assembly last year in A.D. 81, having been endorsed, among others, by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,

 

Altagracia Woolford was philosophical about what the event could mean for young people, saying as adults, it was hard enough to make friends so as teens, the more organic ways that existed for them to come together, the easier it would be for them. “And we want to use this as a chance to continue building on the produce distributions, the back-to-school drives, and more programming that I think is aligned with this idea of just more fun, that challenges the narrative about who we are in The Bronx and that it’s not all just despondent and dark and heavy. Sometimes, it’s fun and joyful!”

 

The Group B winners (aged 16-18) on the day were brothers, Kahill Foster and Melton Foster, and Da’king Smith.