SLAMFEST GAMES MAKE FOR FUN IN THE COMMUNITY

Good food, good times, and most importantly, good basketball were the main reasons people gave for attending Slamfest '98 basketball tournament at Indian Park Saturday.

"It's a positive thing for our community," said Tim Lane, a local basketball fan who claimed to be the best player not participating in the event. "It's always a lot of fun just to come out and be with everybody."

The two-day, double-elimination Slamfest tournament is sponsored by the House of Prayer Outreach Mission and brings together talent from Southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and other parts of the nation. Slamfest is held each year to "give something back to the community" and provide funding for the House of Prayer Educational Youth Domestic Center scheduled to open next December, said Scott Porter, church youth leader and event organizer.

"This is just a lot of fun for everybody involved because we get to see a lot of superstars from our area colleges and high schools and have a good time," said Porter. "All of the proceeds from the past events have also been going to benefit our educational center."

Thirteen teams competed in the heat of the day on concrete courts at Indian Park from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday before moving to the Osage Centre, where the courts are wooden and located in air-conditioned facilities. Slamfest continues at 8 a.m. today at Indian Park with the final games of the tournament, as well as a slam dunk contest and a gospel concert featuring area talent.

"It's really good to see this many folks doing something in such a positive way," said Al McFerren, who officiated many of the games Saturday. "This reminds me of how it was when I was growing up in New Madrid County."

This year marks the largest tournament in the event's seven-year history, said Porter. The tournament is gaining in popularity, attracting recognizable teams from Cape Girardeau, Charleston, Sikeston, and Cairo, Ill., he said. Other teams were willing to travel for the chance to play, coming from more distant cities like Chicago, Ill., and Atlanta, Ga.

"There was a stopping point this year because I had 25 teams interested in playing but didn't have enough time and space to let them play," he said. "I turned away teams from North Carolina, Memphis and Kansas because there wasn't enough time."

Another highlight of the event was the addition of registered officials, Porter said. In the past, all games were refereed by community volunteers. This year, however, players were able to play ball under the whistle of seasoned officials who are trained to monitor high school and college basketball games.

"I like that because it keeps a lot of problems down," said Pat Colon, a former Southeast Otahkian basketball standout who has also officiated in past tournaments. "It helps to know the officials have been trained to ref the games."

McFerren agreed. "I remember many of the faces from high school and college," he said. "There's an amount of respect, mutual respect, so they can concentrate on having fun. These players, especially the ex-college players, deserve to have somebody out there blowing the whistle that knows what they're doing."