There’s nothing quite like basketball in the Summertime in New York City. All season long, NIKE NYC’s annual ‘NYvsNY’ basketball held it down across the boroughs, showcasing some of the best high school talent in the city.
Last week, we were at the Lincoln Park courts in Queens for the boys’ and girls’ semi-finals, where Uptown Collective, Watson, Gersh Park, Dyckman, Lincoln Park, and W4th battled it out for a spot in the Finals. For the girls, Uptown Collective and Gersh Park would come out victorious, while Lincoln Park and Gersh Park secured their spots for the boys’ finals.
For Gersh Park, a back-to-back was on all of their minds coming into the Finals showdown at the Rucker.
Fast-forward to this past Saturday, when the seats at the iconic basketball court in Harlem filled to capacity, the energy was at another level. Slam Magazine’s dual cover of the NYvsNY boys and girls teams was laid out on the seats for guests as the special night of New York City basketball unfolded.
DJ Authorize provided the musical backdrop as the city’s favorite voices of basketball, @team_chaching & @mr.talk_spicy shared their entertaining commentary throughout the evening.
The girls’ finals set the evening off as Harlem’s, Uptown Challenge, took on the defending champions, Gersh Park. It was a close match-up that nearly went down to the wire with the more dominant team prevailing. Brooklyn could not be stopped. Once again, Coach Chiene led her girls to the finish line, taking home the NIKE-embellished trophy.
For the boys’ finals, Queens was in the stands heavy, representing Lincoln Park who would also face off against Gersh Park.
Like the girls’ matchup, this was a grueling thriller that delivered non-stop “ooh’s” and “aah’s” through all four quarters. Looking to dethrone the champs, it was a dog fight for Lincoln Park who fell behind at least 17 points in the third quarter. In the fourth, the intensity picked up as they made a late run in the quarter, cutting Gersh’s lead to six points with 17.6 seconds left in the game.
But Gersh Park managed to do Gersh Park things, answering Lincoln’s every shot attempt with statement dunks, jump shots, or lay-ups of their own. It truly came down to who wanted it more. Brooklyn truly owned the night at the Rucker.
Gersh Park has now won 4 out of 5 trophies. Who will stop them next season?
