Hoop dreams came true for some last Wednesday at the third annual Anchor Slam, hosted by the ladies of Delta Gamma.
As one of their popular philanthropy events for Service for Sight, the Anchor Slam was open to all, with a total of 23 teams of five to seven players. Tickets were $5 each, and raffle tickets were also sold for various prizes.
The event was well organized and brought a lot of participants in, with a few teams even signing up at the door. The Pam Evans Smith arena was filled with a fun and charged atmosphere, with competition in the air.
Some participants were first time attendees, but were just as excited to play some competitive basketball.
Others were Anchor Slam veterans, many of whom have attended all three years that the event has been held.
“This is definitely my favorite philanthropy event for sure,” said junior Luke Cason. “It’s always a lot of fun!”
“It’s always a fun time, and it’s a great turn out this year,” said senior Scott Masin. “It was a bit of a last minute round up, but we got a team in. Now we’re gonna play hard and see what happens.”
As the event got under way, all three courts were in use for both the boys’ and girls’ brackets. To make it worth the players’ time, there were both winners and losers brackets, guaranteeing at least two games for each team.
The DG’s were all around the gym, either keeping score or time, cheering on the teams, or even entering in as teams to play in the event.
“I wasn’t here for last year, but Beth (Hubbard) was pleasantly surprised with the increase in turnout from the last time we put this on,” said senior DG Jen Miller.
Hubbard was in charge of the event this year, with help from the philanthropy chair Zoe Curry.
“Anchor Games happen across the country for DG,” said Curry. “We switched from an Anchor Splash to the Anchor Slam about three years ago.”
Things have become better for the DGs since the change.
“We didn’t have as many participants with the Splash, but since we switched, we’ve had a large increase,” said Hubbard.
The night went on as team by team was eliminated from the bracket, and the competition got hotter. The girls bracket was swept by the Lady Tigers basketball team, and the boys bracket saw some soaring wins and some disappointing losses.
“Coach” Brandon Pytel had an exciting run with his team “the Shockers,” making it to the final four before being defeated in the game for the championship. Regardless of the hoop skills, each game was entertaining and full of good spirit from each player.
With the final game on the center court, all the remaining participants gathered around the sidelines to watch the 10 minute matchup. The team “Dreamville” came out on top, winning their bracket with zero losses. Each winning team got cupcakes as a prize, as well as official bragging rights.
While the tally of money brought in from the event has yet to be counted, the ladies of Delta Gamma certainly put on a fun and organized event for a great cause.
