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Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Peace on da Street Basketball Classic

IN a fitting tribute for the tremendous contribution that he has made to the growth and development of basketball in the country, organisers were overwhelmed by the turnout for the first Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Peace on da Street Basketball Classic.

There was standing room only at the Hope Center as the tournament concluded on Sunday with the championship games played in the five divisions for primary schools, girls, junior boys, senior boys and open division.

More than 35 teams participated in the tournament.

In the senior boys’ division, the Providence Storm knocked off IBA 35-20 behind the most valuable player performance from Emanuel Alexandre.

The Providence Storm added the junior title with their 27-24 decision over the Pirates. Mario Forbes carted off the MVP title.

The Ballers flattened the Jaguars 41-6 in the primary boys’ division with Tayshawn Taylor being named the MVP.

In the girls’ division, the Hype nipped the Diamond Basketball Development Programme 20-19. Denika Lightbourne was selected as the MVP.

And in the open division, the Pirates routed the Hypermalt 31-19 as Kamal Murphy was named the MVP.

“The response succeeded our expectations,” said tournament organiser Apostle Carlos Reid. “We didn’t know that people were that excited about basketball.

“It shows that people are just looking or something to do and it was just our pleasure to put on the event, particularly for these young kids so they could play in a good, clean environment.”

Against the backdrop of “shooting hoops instead of gun,” Apostle Reid said Peace on da Street wanted to ensure that they live up to that responsibility of doing their part to help curb the social ills in the community.

Peace on da Street, which is based out of the Hope Center and operated by Apostle Reid, put on the tournament to help compensate for the fact that they will have to postpone the 25th edition of the Peace on da Street Tournament for another year.

“We didn’t do it last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but we are hoping that by next year, the pandemic will be over so we can bring back the different aspects of the tournament,” Apostle Reid stressed.

“We want to again put on the crowd pleasing slam dunk contest, the three-point shooting competition and the celebrity game, but we can’t do it in this environment.”

Apostle Reid said they were stunned by the amount of persons who showed up to watch the tournament, especially on the final day of competition on Sunday.

“It shows the respect that we have garnered over the years and the respect that people have for my brother, Scooter Reid,” Apostle Reid said.

“We just hope that Scooter is looking down from heaven and was pleased to know that the work that he did in this country would forever be inked where his name will be remembered in a tournament such as this one that we held.”

Michael Reid, affectionately called ‘Scooter’ because of his constant ability to compete as a former distance runner and basketball player, died on Boxing Day after spending eight weeks in the Princess Margaret Hospital battling cancer.

The 57-year-old father of four and grandfather of seven was a fun-loving and hard working employee of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, who organised a number of tournaments, including the annual Father Marcian Peters for primary and high school teams.

In addition to the tournament, Apostle Reid said they also intend to name the courts at the Hope Center, the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid basketball courts.

However, no date has been released for the event as yet.