2015 Hoops Sagrado Tournament

Whew! It's been a hectic few days to say the least.

The bulk of Thursday and Friday were spent in Cantel for the 2015 Hoops Sagrado Tournament. The tournament is the culmination of all the hard work the Hoops Sagrado students and the Guatemalan children have done for the past three weeks.

The tournament kicked off Thursday morning bright and early with a parade of all the teams through the village of Cantel. There was a band and fireworks...so very many fireworks.

This year, with five camps instead of our traditional four games, it meant we had to change the way the tournament is run so we ended up having six games each day instead of four. That's a lot of basketball, but it was also a lot of fun.

The best thing about the tournament? The Guatemalan children who play their hearts out. There may be (there always are) some tears after a tough loss, but they still smile and take even the losses in stride.

It's a long day of basketball. Sometimes
things get a bit silly on the sidelines.

Following the games, each Guatemalan student was given a bag of school supplies and a basketball as a gift. A very special thank you the National Basketball Association and many of our friends, family and colleagues for donating the bags, basketballs and all the school supplies. A glue stick may not see like a lot to you or me, but the Guatemalan children, the cost of theses items is more than what most, if not all of their families make in an entire month.

The defending champion Pachaj girls played Xejuyup for the final.
Pachaj 6 vs. Xejuyup 5

The defending champion Pachaj boys played Colegio Maya for the championship.
Pachaj 10 vs. Colegio Maya 1

It was Colegio Maya vs. Chirijquiac for the third place game.
Chirijquiac 12 vs. Colegio Maya 10

In the third place boys game it was Xejuyup vs. Chirijquiac.
Xejuyup 7 vs. Chirijquiac 6

In the fifth place girls game it was Colegio Maya vs. Chuisuc.
Colegio Maya 8 vs. Chuisuc 6

In the fifth place boys game it was Xejuyup vs. Chuisuc.
Xejuyup 5 vs. Chuisuc 3