Excitement builds for Elmont’s 3-on-3

A buzz is in the air.

Elmont’s 3-on-3 basketball tournament — an annual event for fifth-grade to college students that has garnered both local and Long Island-wide attention — will be held on July 16, at the Dutch Broadway School in Elmont. Tip-off will be at 10:30 a.m.

The tournament, which was established seven years ago by the 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Committee — chaired by Scott Cushing, executive assistant for Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) — will have some new attendees this year: the Knicks organization, along with the “New York Knicks Groove Mobile.” The tournament will be held this year in memory of former New York City firefighter and Elmont resident David Dangerfield.

Something new for the tournament this year will be a game between the Henry Viscardi School Wheelchair Basketball Team and the Elmont varsity boys basketball team, Nassau County champions, who will also be in wheelchairs. They will play at 11:30 a.m.

The Viscardi basketball team has competed in the Empire State Games for the physically challenged, and hosts an annual tournament annually, in December.

“The Viscardi team is ready and the Elmont boys will be putting their skills to the test in a way they have never experienced,” Martins said. “What makes this game so special is that it is bringing people together for a game in an event that will not only be fun, but will educate everyone.”

Joe Slaninka, Viscardi’s coach, said he’s looking forward to a competitive game between the Viscardi Cougars and Elmont Spartans. “We are going to give them all we got,” Slaninka said. “This type of wheelchair basketball is not common, and we are ready to show the residents of Elmont just how fantastic this game is.”

The Elmont Spartans include Rocky Chambers, Anthony Elechi, Kyle Johnson, Tyler DeChalus, Michael Dugue and Reggie Pierre.  The Viscardi Cougars are made up of: Mariah Sepulveda, Kevin Gomes, Paul Bottari, Rachel Gross, Matt Zelen, Albert Spencer, Brian Faithfull, Juaquan Jones-Taylor, Chris Ioannou, Chris Alvarez, Chris Scherrer, Dayna Stropkay and Dillon Williams.

“It’s an honor to be on the same court with the Viscardi Cougars,” said Williams, a forward for the Spartans. “I can’t wait to get into a wheelchair and play the game.”

In addition to basketball, a soccer clinic will be held during the day, as well as high school and college 7-on-7 football games. Other activities will include a climbing wall, video game display boards and individual games.

Cushing said that local members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps will be participating in games throughout the day of the tournament, as well as the Elmont Soccer Club, Elmont Fire Department and New York State National Guard.

Cushing said that he’s expecting a record turnout for this year’s tournament. The event has turned into one of the biggest for the western portion of Elmont, after the Belmont Stakes, he added.

Registration for the 3-on-3 tournament is permitted up to 30 minutes before division tip-offs: fourth to sixth-grade students will be tipping off at 10:30 a.m., seventh and eighth-grade students at 12:30 p.m., ninth and 10th-grade students at 2:30 p.m., 11th and 12th-grade students at 4:30 p.m., and college divisions at 5:30 p.m. Football 7-on-7 games will begin at 5 p.m., and the day-long soccer clinic will begin at 11 a.m.

The tournament will be held at the Assemblyman Tom Alfano basketball courts, located behind Dutch Broadway. A rain date has been scheduled for July 17. The tournament is free, and is open to students residing in Franklin Square, Elmont, North Valley Stream, Valley Stream, Floral Park, Malverne, Bellerose Village, Bellerose Terrace, West Hempstead, Stewart Manor, South Floral Park and New Hyde Park.

To participate in the tournament, email Dutchtourney@gmail.com or call Martin’s office at 516-746-5924.

Comments about this story? JNash@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 214.