3 on 3 teams win regional tournaments

By JOHN HEGLIE

Special for the Leader

The last weekend of June, area basketball players collaborated by combining their talents to formulate teams that would further hone roundball skills. 

Some fared quite well, while others benefited from the exercise.  Two tournaments involving area players included the 2015 Spokane Hoopfest and a Frenchtown tourney.  At the 2015 Spokane Hoopfest, two teams with Mission Valley area affiliation won championships in their respective brackets.

In the Adult Male Division of the Spokane Hoopfest, team Laimbeer won their bracket, comprised of former Polson Pirate 2012 grads Ian Laimbeer and Cody Fischer along with a pair of friends.  The tandem of Laimbeer and Fischer now have a two year winning streak going at this tournament, although they played with different teammates this time around.  Laimbeer also played on an Adult Co-Ed team under the moniker Tinder All-Stars, which went 4-2.   Also competing in the Adult Male Division of the Spokane Hoopfest were the Grooms Henchmen, comprised of former Polson players Derrike BigSam, Dale BigSam, Eric Rensvold, the brother of Dave Rensvold, and Mike Baumberger.

 In the Male 6-foot & Under division under the rubric Beats by Dr. Dre Elite of the Spokane Hoopfest, the Desert Horse Elite also won their bracket.  This rendition of Desert Horse were composed of JR Camel, his SKC Bison nephew Zachary Camel, Preston Wynn and Michael Jackson.  The Desert Horse Elite went 4-1 after an initial first round bye, reeling off three straight before losing the first championship to Strokesville USA, which they rectified by winning the second championship for the title.  

In the High School Male division of the Spokane Hoopfest, pending Polson Pirate sophomores Haden Smith, Hogan Kelley, Sam Shultz and Kaiden Forman-Webster collaborated to form the Droppin Deuces, which finished 6-2.  They lost their opener, but then reeled off six straight to place themselves back in contention with a berth in the championship, where they lost to the Olympia Soph Bears. In the Elite Freshman Male division of the Spokane Hoopfest, the Desert Horse Thunder went 2-2, bolstered with some orange and black Ronan Chief flavor with Anthony Camel, former Ronan resident Bubba Redstar, St. Regis Tiger.

In the Youth Male division the Run N Gun likewise went 2-2 at the tournament, comprised of Ronan Middle School players Colton Graham, Darian Williams, Daniel Kelsch and Zerec Couture.

At a basketball tournament played in Frenchtown the last weekend of June, the Polson Pirates won four straight before dropping their finale against the AA Hellgate Knights.  

The team was comprised of Tanner Wilson, Matt Rensvold, J’von Neimeyer, Payton Lefthand, Wyatt Ducharme, Shade Main and pending Ronan transfer Braden Youngren, the latter the stepbrother of graduate Andrew Curley.