gus macker tournament | Notebook

Young winners: The B.K. Tankers team of Mike Gajdos, Jared Burkert, Jake Buccieri and Nick Buccieri won the Red Division Court B (11-12) boys championship with a 4-0 record. “All hit two-pointers to win,” coach Dennis Gajdos said of goals that finished the games. “Everybody took turns,” Gajdos said. In Gus Mackerland, regular baskets are worth one point, but those made from behind the arc are worth two points. Mike Gajdos, Burkert and the 12-year-old Buccieri twins will be 7th-graders at Poland Middle School.

Runners-up: A runner-up to Penn-Ohio Blue Storm in the 10-11 boys group was the Boardman foursome of Jared Jay, Bryce Richey, John Ryan and Gino Guerrieri. The boys finished 3-2, after winning their first two games, then losing, then winning another before falling in the championship game, 15-11. “The game was tied, 11-11, but our kids got a little tired,” said Steve Jay, Jared’s father. “They played five games in a row,” Jay said. “They had a kid as tall as me.” To put it in the words of one of the Boardman players: “One kid was a giant.”

The John Ryan-coached Boardman team prepared for the Gus Macker event by practicing against the boys’ parents.

Observers: Damon Williams and his nephew Dawayne Williams were bystanders, but they still brought their basketballs from Crandall Avenue on the North Side during the walk downtown. Damon Williams said he didn’t know anyone playing but he and his nephew came downtown to observe. “I heard about it last year, but missed it,” Damon said of the same event in 2009. “I didn’t want to miss this time.” Damon engaged in a little braggadocio when he stated: “They [Macker] don’t want to see me come out of retirement. I’ll beat them one-on-one or two-on-one.” Damon Williams is a 1992 Rayen graduate, while Dawayne is a 2007 graduate — the final school year before Rayen closed. “They need to bring that back,” Damon Williams said. “I don’t know why they closed my school down.”

In charge: The events manager was David Clifton, while his wife, Cheryl, was in charge of registration. The couple are from Ypsilanti, Mich. The Cliftons travel to tournaments in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and New York. “We go all over,” said David Clifton. Volunteering as scorekeepers and timers for the Toilet Bowl games were Youngstown Christian students Jairus Pettis, Kenny Griffin and Nate Watson. Referee Bill Yobi, an assistant boys coach at Youngstown Christian, was a Gus Buster who officiated nine games. He explained that all goals account for one point, except those from beyond the arc are worth two. When attempting free throws for a shooting foul, the offended team may elect to try a 15-footer, then get possession even if missed or the team may try a free throw worth two points from behind the arc, although loss of possession would follow. Games last 25 minutes with the first team to reach 15 points winning. However, the point differential must be two points — 15-13 (not 15-14) or 16-14. If tied at 15, teams play to 20 with a 20-19 score acceptable for victory. Extra time, after a coin flip, is sudden-death. Yobi noted that a 40 & over player who refused to shake hands after a loss last year returned this year, sought out the individual whose hand he rebuffed, and apologized before competition.

John Bassetti