Under the pressure of a 45-second clock, members of Elmwood Park Youth Basketball took their best shot.
There were six participants competing during halftime at Elmwood Park High School’s basketball game on Feb. 6. It was the final stage in the Elmwood Park Youth Basketball League’s Hot Shot Competition that evening.
The competitors were Jacob Rivera and Matthew Smith representing the third- and fourth-grade level, Ethan Cruz and Sergio Castellanos representing the fifth- and sixth-grade level, and Michael Cruz and Anthony Barnett representing the seventh- and eighth-grade level.
They were the finalists, having bested 34 other participants in a tournament that went on for over a month.
During halftime, each of the six competitors had 45 seconds to score as many points as possible on the basketball court from different marked areas. Each marked area carried different point values.
Smith won his competition outright, but the other four competitors had to have a five free-throw tiebreaker. Barnett and Ethan Cruz came out the victors for their respective grade levels. Both first and second place winners of from each level received a medal.
Barnett, 13, said he has been involved in the Elmwood Park Youth Commission since the second grade and was happy about winning.
“I was looking forward to it,” he said. “I practice a lot of free throws.”
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Although he did not win, Juan Rivera was proud of his son, Jacob, for getting this far.
“I’m very happy and very excited,” he said. “It’s the sport he plays at home. This is what he wants to do.”
Smith, 10, said he was happy about winning the contest and believes practice made the difference.
“It feels really good,” he said. “I’ve been practicing a lot and that’s why I made all of those shots.”
Bart Smith, president of Elmwood Park Youth Commission, said the event was not just about competition, but introducing the youth to the high school experience. The Hot Shot competitors came out with 15 other kids youth who all got to see a basketball game free of charge.
“It gives the kids a chance to see what’s coming when they get into high school,” he said.