The first Ballin’ in Busan charity basketball tournament took place on Saturday June 25, 2011 in Dadaepo middle school in Busan, South Korea. It was raining heavily, but it didn’t stop me or the 13 teams that competed. Originally, the tournament was supposed to be held at Pusan National University, but because of the rain we had no choice but to play indoors. The teams were mostly comprised of Busanites, but there were a couple that were from Incheon, Andong and Ulsan, respectively. Together we were able to raise W220,000 for BAPS (Busan Abandoned Pets Sanctuary Fundraiser).

 

MEN’S TOURNAMENT

There were 8 teams in this tourney and the boys put on a great performance, especially in the championship game. This was a round robin tournament which basically means that every team plays each other once and the teams with the most wins advance to the championship game. The top dogs in the event were team #4 Shark Bait and team #5 ROK Team, respectively. These two teams met in the championship game and they had a nail-biting game. Shark Bait was down 9-1, but with a solid performance from Eleven they were able to rally from behind and go all the way for the W! In other great news, my team played very well. My team managed to put up 8 wins loss. In all fairness, my teammates played very well taking into consideration that basketball is not their sport.

Peter Bonner’s official overall stats: 5 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 15 turnovers, travelled 7x + Fighting Spirit = Worthless (Kidding)

Teams:  

1. Slamma Jamma
2. Pmall
3. Kobra Kai
4. Shark Bait
5. ROK Team
6. School of Hardknocks
7. Mikee Dee (I would never choose to name my team after myself)
8. Jugoshipnya

 

MIXED TOURNAMENT

Six teams competed in this bracket and just like the other tourney all of the teams put on a great show. The victor in this tourney was —- wait for it —- ROK Team. That’s right! ROK came prepared and they had a secret weapon in the name of Seung Hee (Sorry if this isn’t your name :’( Seung Lee’s game was stellar as she was driving and cutting to the basket, as well setting picks for her teammates. The ROK Team defeated the tired Jugoshipnya team from Andong, who also dismantled other teams in this bracket. In third place was the Commonwealth Conquerors, led by Peter and Jackie – the Irish. Together, we were able to defeat the Bonner Beaters! Once again, the amateur Peter put on a good performance by putting up 4 pts, 8 rebounds, and 1 block.  

Teams:

1. Namaste
2. The Mexican
3. ROK Team
4. Jugoshipnya
5. Bonner Beaters
6. Commonwealth Conquerors