December 20-22, 2004

What do BAPS kishores do when they are not taking an active role in their mandal sabhas, performing cultural shows, or doing seva? Basketball has always been a favorite pastime for the youths of BAPS in the United States. The Southeast kishore mandal has held a regional 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament for the past two years. In the hope of winning the golden cup trophy, the kishores created teams with three players, and one substitute.

This year twenty-two teams registered to compete in the tournament that was held from December 20-22. The brackets and rules were set up similar to those of the NCAA basketball tournament. The first day was the regular season, where each team played three games. The kishores played competitively, showing their skill on the basketball court. Even though both teams wanted to win their games, off the court, kishores showed great sportsmanship, whether their team won or lost.

The teams went to the playoffs according to their standings. After a grueling set of games, Tampa Mandal took the trophy home, and attained the title of the Third Annual Southeast 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Champions. Though the other kishores did not win the tournament, they emerged satisfied because they were able to build samp with each other, have sant samagam, and play their favorite pastime sport.

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