INUVIK
It was a full weekend of play for teams from Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik last weekend, as players vied for top spot in the annual five-on-five basketball tournament.

Lorne Guy, left, and Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses present Robert Charlie, centre, with a piece of the gym floor from Sir Alexander Mackenzie School in honour of his lifetime membership with Basketball NWT. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo

The men's team from Fort McPherson (with a few local additions) beat out the Inuvik Basket Brawlers for first place, with both returning champions Tuk U and territorial champions East Three Sr. Boys failing to make it to the final game, despite strong performances in the round-robin phase.

Mangilaluk defeated the team from Chief Julius School by a 38-16 score in Pool B.

And the East Three Jr. Girls Grade 7 and 8 team defeated the Jr. Boys Purple team from East Three, taking an early lead that they nearly lost in the second half.

"It was awesome, and scary," said Kyra McDonald. "It was a really close game."

Her teammate Lauren Ross said that while the girls had a really strong first few minutes, the boys caught up fast.

"We did really good plays and got the ball down the court," said McDonald. "The training paid off."

Jazelle Pokiak spoke for the whole team when she thanked Lorne Guy for being their coach.

As for the Sr. Boys team from East Three, their coach Al Gillis said the loss in the semi-finals was largely a game of missed opportunities.

"The effort was there, and they got better and better through the tournament," he said. "We had two losses by three points combined, and we were playing against men's teams all weekend."

Still, perhaps the biggest winner of the weekend was someone who wasn't even playing.

Long-time player, organizer and volunteer Robert Charlie was honoured with a lifetime membership to NWT Basketball, something only given out once before.

"He's the first guy who comes to the DEA (district education authority) and fights for gym time for the adults every year, and he's been playing for a long time," said coach Guy. "Basketball is important to a lot of people in this community, but he's the one who takes that step and does it."

Charlie was presented with a piece of the old Sir Alexander Mackenzie School gym floor, the school which preceded East Three where he and others played so many games.

"It was unexpected for sure, a big surprise," said Charlie, adding that his love of the game pushes him to get involved and organize the adult league every year. "Seeing some of the younger guys coming out and playing, like Alfred (Moses) was just a young guy when I started and he's still playing."

Charlie said he enjoyed coming out to the tournament to see both older players and young ones getting into the game.

Overall, 129 players turned out to field 13 teams. Guy, co-organizer for the event, said that the number of teams was down from previous years, but that the level of competition was higher.

"It's been extremely busy, there are other events going on in the territory this weekend," Guy said. "Basketball has always been my thing and important to me to see it grow, and when you see the smiles on the kids' faces at the end, it's all worth it."