The 2021 City is Mine Basketball Classic
After taking a year off due to the pandemic, The City is Mine Basketball Classic was back in a major way over the weekend. Founders, Bernard Bowen, and NBA star Carmelo Anthony put a lot of hard work into making their brand stand out year after year. This year would be no different as the City is Mine invaded Harlem and held their festivities at Colonel Charles Young Playground aka TriState. The day consisted of two semifinal games and culminated in a championship. This year a new champ would be crowned after Milbank has run away with 4 titles.
This is Team Real Skills very first time playing at City is Mine. Head Coach Daon Merritt photo’d on the sideline of while his team faced Team Shine in the Semi-Finals. Photo courtesy of C. Griffin of ATH
In the first game of the day, Team Shine faced off with Real Skills. Out the gate team Real Skills came out aggressive. They scored easy buckets in transition, forced turnovers, and capitalized on the other team’s mistakes. Led by Jaquan Sanders’ 19 points and 4 assists, Team Real Skills took care of business. There were a few other players who contributed to the win. Tyshawn Trail and Dwayne Pierce went for 19 and 17 points, respectively. They were to face off against the winner of the Milbank versus United Brooklyn.
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Milbank came into this game as winners of 4 City is Mine Championships. Coach Roosevelt Byers always brings his A-game to this classic, and he would need to versus a hungry United Brooklyn squad coached by NYC Basketball Legend Gary Ervin. Milbank came out firing and managed to be very efficient from the field. Led by Dominic Barlow’s 22 points and 8 boards, Milbank managed to get to the championship round once again. Tyler Johnson led United Brooklyn with 15 points.
Phenom Jaquan Sanders went home the MVP honors. He’s a young talent to look out for in the next few years. Photo courtesy of C. Griffin for ATH
The City is Mine Basketball Classic is always a star-studded event. This year there were fewer celebrities on the sidelines but a few managed to come out and enjoy the festivities. Actor Michael Rainey Jr from the hit TV show Power was posted up with JellyFam. New York Knicks high flyer Obi Toppin also pulled up to the park. Carmelo Anthony didn’t show up this year, but it’s understandable seeing as though he just signed on to be a part of the Los Angeles Lakers.
NY Knick Forward Obi Toppin came out to see some of the local talent. Photo courtesy of C. Griffin for ATH
The championship game was set. Team Real Skills was set to face off against reigning champ Milbank. Both teams were stacked with talent and had elite coaching on their respective sidelines. Although the games were pretty close it started to become apparent that a new champion would be crowned. This is Real Skills Head Coach Daon Merritt’s first time hoisting the City is Mine 7-foot trophy. He’s been training student-athletes for years and this year made a rare appearance at the City is Mine Basketball Classic on the sideline as Head Coach. Salute to the Real Skills Basketball program. We look forward to seeing this team defend their title next year.
All Stats for this event were provided by Ballstar. Check out the complete Box Scores for the entire event HERE.