By JONATHAN BURROWS

Bahamian NBA player Kai Jones hosted his inaugural 1 Up Cup basketball tournament this past Saturday at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium, bringing together young talent from across the island nation. 

The one-day tournament followed a one-game elimination format featuring six teams. The rosters were set during a combine-style draft held Friday evening where players were evaluated on their skills before being selected. The format gave participants a chance to showcase their abilities while also promoting teamwork. 

“I’m so glad that everyone is getting an opportunity to play, God has blessed us to be able to come together and play like this and I’m so blessed to be able to give back and help,” said Kai. 

The inspiration for the 1 Up Cup came from a tournament participant Jaylen Fernander who was a camper at the Mirror Mirror programme held at A.F. Adderly Gymnasium in July where Kai served as a mentor to at-risk kids. 

“We were working at the gym, and Jaylen Fernander asked me if I could please come home and do something like this and we were talking about it and I was looking forward to doing something like this when I was ending the season,” said Kai. 

Jaylen Fernander would be named the player of the game for the first game of the tournament for team Skywalker in a win against team Tito, scoring 15 points with five steals. 

It would be team GOATs who would win the entire tournament, defeating team Infinity in the final round with a score of 62-47. 

The tournament’s most valuable player went to Damarion Ellis of team GOATs, and the defensive player of the tournament would go to Sidney Higgs also of team GOATs. With the success of the inaugural edition, Kai hopes to make this tournament an annual event to expand its reach and impact.