Basketball has taken over the gymnasium at the Central Plains RecPlex every weekend for the last two months. The Portage Learning & Literacy Centre (PLLC) put on the tournament and felt it was well-received by the community.

Emily Koldyk, a Settlement Coordinator in Schools with the PLLC, shared how it felt to see so many people engage with the event.

"I think the reception was really awesome. They looked forward to Sundays when they all come out. Some even came out when their teams weren't playing because it was something they enjoyed. Sports help people get together. This was something the community was asking for, and so, we hope that if we do it again, we will see the weekly turnout of people coming out to support, and just be there to see what's going on."

Althea Almazan, the Communications and Events Coordinator at PLLC, notes that going forward, they would like to host another tournament, potentially as soon as this summer.

"If not another one this summer, we were hoping for an annual thing, maybe another call for teams and players in January. But I was observing as well, basketball is a big thing here in the city, not just in the summer but also in the winter, because we have the facilities."

The PLLC gave a big thank you to the RecPlex for allowing them to use the facility.

The tournament featured several teams, and the Dreamcatchers were the ones to come away winners after all was said and done.

Damian Edwards, a member of the team, said it was great to see the effort put in by players in each game.

"The competition is surprisingly good, I did not know Portage had such a good basketball culture. I grew up in Toronto, it's huge there, but here, it's a hockey town. So to see this, I'm flabbergasted, but I love it."

Gennesis Peralta played for Team Dunn, who faced the Dreamcatchers in the semi-final, and he says it's not just good for those who are participating.

"It's fun and it's full of entertainment. It's really good for our community to have a tournament like this."

Gennesis Peralta and Damian Edwards relax after their game. Gennesis Peralta (left) and Damian Edwards (right) relax after their game.

To get in contact with the PLLC, you can send an email to emily@pllc.ca, althea@pllc.ca or you can call (204) 857-6304.