Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
A summertime tradition in Havre returns this weekend in the form of the Ninth Annual Nothin’ But Net 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The tournament, which is put on by the Havre Chamber of Commerce will take place on Third Street and Fourth Avenue west of Independence Bank. The tournament allows teams and players to play in a street ball style format, which is a little bit different than the normal run-of-the-mill basketball. However, there will be an official referee for each game. “I just think that it gives kids another opportunity to play some basketball,” tournament organizer Dustin Kraske said. “It’s the end of July and there aren’t a lot of other basketball events going on right now, so it gives kids a chance to play.” The tournament has five different age groups, starting with 4-6 grade mixed. Every team in that 4-6 grade division must have a girl on the team, and she must be in the game at all times. Other divisions include, 7-8 grade boys and girls divisions, as well as high school divisions for both boys and girls. “It has really turned into a pretty big event,” Kraske said. “We always seem to get a pretty good turn out for it. I am not sure exactly how many teams that will be competing this year, but we usually average around 40 teams a year.” The tournament costs each team $65 dollars to enter, with the money going to the chamber of commerce. But each player gets a basketball and a T-shirt for entering. “In the first few years, we used the money for a scholarship fund,” Kraske said. “But we didn’t have anybody apply for it, so the last couple of years we have used the money for tournament upkeep. We have got six new hoops for the tournament, which is just part of a project to improve the event.” Registration for the tournament starts on Saturday at 8 a.m., with play getting under way an hour at 9 a.m. Every team in every age group will compete in pool play to determine seeding for the single-elimination portion of the tournament that will decide the champion for each bracket. After a lunch break, the single-elimination brackets tournament will get begin around 1 p.m. Every team is guaranteed at least one game in single-elimination play. “We are really excited about it,” Kraske said. “It’s a little different atmosphere since we will playing street ball, and it’s also three-on-three instead of five-on-five, so it’s different than what the kids are used to. “The weather is supposed to be nice on Saturday, so hopefully it will turn out to be a nice day,” he added. “It should be a lot of fun and hopefully we will get a lot of people to come out to watch basketball.” The tournament is on Saturday at Third Street and Fourth Avenue. The action will get under way at 9 a.m and will continue into the late afternoon.
