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CHARITY WINS IN
A crowd pleasing, fund raising, celebrity basketball game took place last Sunday and
the
event had just about everything from professional athletes to beautiful models. There was a slight delay to
the
3pm tip off time as one of
the
baskets needed a little TLC, however this did nothing to dampen
the
spirits of
the
80+ crowd who turned out to witness a first of its kind for
the
Teesside area. The Celebrity basketball game was |
CELEB GAME
organised by Game Time Sports Management and
the primary aims were to raise awareness of
the
special needs project they
are developing and to also launch
the
Game Time Basketball Academy which takes place at David Lloyds health club in Stockton. |
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Artist, Adam Reamswood scores for the celebrities |
The Celebrity team included
Fame
Academy
runner up Alistair Griffin as well as local models Kirby & Fallon, artist Adam Reamswood and Rapper Principul.
On
the
court
the
celebrities were quickest off
the
mark after receiving a helping hand from
the
referee as he decided it was a little unfair that 5ft4 Fallon had to compete for a jump ball with 6ft10 Argentinean International Cacu, so he handed her
the
ball instead! After
the
celebrities enjoyed missing a |
James Thomson drives to the basket with
Alistair Griffin looking on (grey hat) |
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James Thomson controls the ball with Laura Stevens and Principul defending
Great fun for the young ones too!
A good crowd turn out
Daniel Cooper shoots for Game Time Team |
The Game Time Trophy
couple of shots they
then
decided to hit 2 in a row to surprise
the
Game Time team with a 4-0 lead. dunks
The Game Time team were fairly relaxed in
the
first half and were content on performing
the
tricks, which may indicate
the
half time score being so close at 32-32. There were one or two valid excuses in
the
professional camp as James Thomson hasnt played since a car accident 4 years ago and John Anderson came out of retirement to grace
the
court. Therefore they
were left to rely on
the
basketball star Ralph Bucci, who flew over from
Greece
, where he currently plays professionally. Ralph, an American who spent 6 years in Teesside, made some nice moves and a few powerful slam dunks to excite
the
crowd and stir a hint of envy from
the
opposition. Ralph added "Its good to come back to Teesside and I really enjoyed
the
celebrity game, it was a nice way to wind down a very hectic season. I hope we are able to reach out to
the
community and encourage them
to get involved." |
Young Oliver slams the ball in the hoop...
with a little help!
We are not sure what has happened to
Cacu's legs!
The star of
the
show however was 10 year old Oliver Clark who was enjoying a Game Time Birthday party with his friends. Little did
the
youngster know that part of his present was to be given his own Game Time Team shirt and actually take part in
the
game. Oliver attends
the
Game
Time
Academy
sessions every Sunday at David Lloyd and was over
the
moon with his surprise opportunity. The little fella went on to score 12 points and enjoyed a great day along with his cheering friends and proud parents.
Winners
At
the
final buzzer
the
game finished with a score of 72-66 in favour of
the
Game Time team, although I am sure
the
celebrities having so nearly tasted victory will be looking forward and training hard for
the
ir next opportunity.
Tricks
During half time a trick show from James Thomson was performed to entertain
the
spectators and provide volunteers with an opportunity to win prizes donated by Game Time and Mecca Bingo, Stockton. There was also a half line shot for
the
adults to win a bottle of champagne and box of chocolates. After
the
game
the
re were a lot of happy faces heading for
the
exits, already talking about next years game!
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