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PRCUA 2010 National Basketball Tournament Recap
(Photos)
On Saturday, March 20th, St. Stan's hosted the 76th Annual PRCUA Basketball
Tournament in Dearborn, MI. The tournament set out to be a celebration of
the fraternalism that thrives in the PRCUA. To that end, the tournament was
a huge success! Teams from all over came and enjoyed the whole atmosphere of
what can be called the PRCUA's version of "March Madness."
The tournament kicked off
with some teams arriving on Friday evening. A hospitality room was secured
at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and it was soon full of old friends catching up
with each other. A "Pub Crawl" was set up for Friday night, through the bars
and businesses of Downtown Dearborn. This fun event gave many PRCUA members
a chance to relax and have a good time before the games started the next
day. There were many in attendance and judging by the amount of people who
stayed out late into the night, it appeared that the morning's games would
be a little bit sluggish for some!
The actual tournament
tipped off its first games at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Courts were at the Henry
Ford Community College and the University of Michigan at Dearborn. At 10
a.m., an official "jump-ball" ceremony took place at the center court. At
this ceremony, we were graced by the presence of Dearborn Mayor "Jack"
O'Reilly, who welcomed all to Dearborn and wished all the players and fans a
successful and fun tournament. Joining Mayor O'Reilly at the ceremony were
the national officers of the PRCUA: Pres. Wallace Ozog, Res. V.P. Anna
Sokolowski, V.P. Bob Bielenda and Secy.-Tres. Joyce Szarowicz. St. Stan's
Pres. Jerry Nasiatka, served as the emcee for the brief ceremony. Upon
completion of the ceremony, the teams returned to the floor and the games
resumed.
A total of 12 teams
participated in the men's Open Division this year. After a 2-game pool play
schedule, half the teams were put into the "Open Division" playoff and the
other half were put into the "B Division" playoff. From here, teams played
in a single elimination format.
After many games, the Open
Division Championship pitted St. Stan's YMS vs. HES Aces from East Chicago.
A spirited game was enjoyed by many and, in the end, St. Stan's had its
first championship team in many years when St. Stan's YMS came out on top by
a score of 58-43. Coach Bobby Hojnacki was proud to have finally captured
the Open Championship for St. Stan's after a long drought of not winning
one.
In the "B Division", St.
Stan's had the luxury of having two of its teams play against each other for
the crown. St. Stan's Boomba Boys (coached by Brian Czerwinski) played
against the St. Stan's Wizards (coached by Frank Nasiatka). This game was a
low scoring, defensive battle! In the end, the Wizards of St. Stan's inched
out a 2 point victory and claimed the "B Division" Championship.
In addition to the Open
Division at this year's tournament, the PRCUA also offered an Over-50
Division, to the delight of the fans. There were three teams in this
division. The "Veterans" team, coached by Frank Nasiatka, won both of its
games and was thereby crowned the champions! It was a treat to see these
gentlemen compete once again on the hardcourt!
An Awards Banquet and Dance
followed the games and was held Saturday evening. It was here that the
championship teams were honored and the All-Stars were announced. The MVP's
of the tournament are: Tim Sobczak (St. Stan's YMS) for the Open Division;
Brian Nycz (St. Stan's Wizards) for the "B" Division; and Thomas Dudek (St.
Stan's Veterans) for the Over-50 Division. Many guests attended the Banquet,
joining the players to put the attendance over 230 people! They were all
treated to an outstanding Polish-themed dinner and the wonderful polka tunes
played by The New Brass Express Band. The evening served as a climax for the
entire tournament, as players bonded and everyone danced and partied till
after midnight!
On behalf of St. Stan's
Society #718, I wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who participated
in the tournament. It was great to see teams from East Chicago, St. Rita's,
PRCUA Soc. #162 and Pope John Paul II in attendance! I also would like to
thank the selfless volunteers from St. Stan's who worked hard to make this
event happen, especially Ron Bak and Jeff Sydorchuk for managing each gym
flawlessly. A million thanks go to the many volunteers who sold tickets or
kept score and to the ad book committee for soliciting local businesses.
Lastly, I thank Bob Hojnacki and Mark Hamilton for co-chairing this event
with me, proving the Triangle could pull it off. Hats off to all involved in
this job well done!
Here are some
photos
from the 2010 Basketball Tournament.
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