A TEAM FROM Richmond, from left, consisting of Brandon Lancaster and Brooke Lancaster, both of whom played basketball at Richmond High School, and Paul Lancaster, who coached Richmond High School boys basketball for two decades, was all smiles at the annual Swish-Out Childhood Cancer Challenge, coordinated by Maine’s credit unions.
Maine’s longest running benefit basketball tournament took place in late January. The record-setting amount brings the tournament’s 18-year total to nearly $230,000 raised.
The tournament field was comprised of 40 co-ed teams of adults from organizations, businesses and families, and six co-ed teams of middle school students.
On the court, V-Tec Learning Center of South Portland won the Elite Division title, with Wright Express of South Portland, cPort Credit Union of Portland, Scarborough and Augusta, and CGI of Scarborough rounding out the top four.
In the Just For Fun Division, K.L.R. (in memory of Kristin Lynn Ready) of Portland won the championship, with Simps & Bros. of Bath, 320ink of Cumberland, and CTI of Falmouth the other top finishers in the division.
The winner of Junior Swish-Out was the Oxford Hills Vikings, with Greely, Portland Saints and Portland B-Ballers completing the top four.
Tournament founder and director, Jon Paradise, governmental and public affairs manager for the Maine Credit Union League, said, “This is a team effort that wouldn’t achieve the results it has without the support from people and businesses. It is very emotional yet uplifting at the same time because there are a number of participants who have had a loved one treated at the Maine Children’s Can- cer Program.”
In addition to the Maine Credit Union League, the lead sponsors for this year’s event were Five County Credit Union, Walmart, Wright Express, CU Promise, Hannaford’s Supermarkets, Martin’s Point Health Care, National Semiconductor/Texas Instruments, Time Warner Cable, WPOR Radio, and the University of Southern Maine Huskies.
Other sponsors included Town & Country Federal Credit Union, Alpha Xi Delta, Casco Federal Credit Union, Cumberland County Federal Credit Union, Insurance Trust, Kohl’s, Sportsradio WJAB, Portland Pirates, Portland Sea Dogs, St. Clair Media Group, and University Credit Union.
¦ MAINE’S LONGEST running benefit basketball tournament took place in late January. The recordsetting amount brought in this year brings the tournament’s 18-year total to nearly $230,000 raised.
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