Prairie Baskeball League hosts summer tournament

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This article was published 03/08/2023 (675 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The action was fast and furious inside the Steinbach Christian School gym, as the Prairie Basketball League (PBL) hosted their second annual summer tournament.

While Metroball was able to top I Never Tie My Sneakers in an entertaining final, organizers were encouraged to see the PBL continue to grow. The PBL started as a Filipino basketball league in 2020, but soon expanded, as they were the only organized basketball organization in Steinbach.

Abram Razon is the commissioner of the PBL. He called the tournament “amazing,” noting there was vast improvement compared to the 2022 edition.

“We got a lot more talented players and teams coming out for this weekend, and it’s been a blast,” Razon said.

“All three days were just an absolute joy for everyone.”

The final was a competitive affair, with Metroball pulling away in the final moments, after falling behind early.

“Let’s bring out the best talent Manitoba has to offer,” Rezon said.

“Every year, every league that we have has more and more really good talents that are coming out.”

The adult teams weren’t the only ones seeing action on the court, as some of the best high school players in the province were in attendance to show their stuff in The Battlegrounds, an all-star game featuring talent from the Aim High Academy.

“Manitoba is a basketball province,” Rezon said, pointing to the early success of the Winnipeg Sea Bears professional team.

“I think here’s a lot more love for basketball in Manitoba for basketball that’s not put on the highlights as much.”

Mike Page runs Aim High, and even coached the finalist team in the main tournament. He said the quality of player was even better than he expected it would be.

“We had a great group of kids who came out and competed, and that’s all you can ask for,” Page said.

“A coach came out, and selected 11 guys to go to his camp. That’s amazing.”

Page added that bringing the Battlegrounds all-star game to the PBL summer tournament was Rezon’s idea.

“It was a great atmosphere, I loved it,” Page said.

“There were very talented kids who came, and I think it’s only going to grow even more because of those guys leaving it out there. It wasn’t lazy, they came to play.”

The PBL fall/winter league is set to start Oct. 14, with registration finishing by Sept. 9.