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'The game goes on': Basketball tournament Kobe Bryant inspired continues his legacy

By
Updated  January 27, 2020 7:11am EST
Kobe Bryant
FOX 29 Philadelphia

‘The game goes on;’ a basketball tournament Kobe Bryant inspired continues his legacy

Joyce Evans reports from the basketball tournament Kobe Bryant inspired

PHILADELPHIA - Kobe Bryant inspired a basketball tournament with stellar list of alumni involved. That tournament was in full swing Sunday when news broke of Kobe Bryant’s passing.

Fierce battling on the courts of the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics Tournament Sunday in Jefferson University gym, featuring the best girl high school ballers in the tristate region.

Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics Basketball Tournament

Then, the announcement from founder Jeremy Treatman.

“In case you have not heard, the great Kobe Bryant has passed away today,” he stated simply.

Most difficult for the former Lower Merion assistant basketball coach who says Bryant’s support for young ballers never ended.

“Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic was formed with inspiration that came from Kobe Bryant sitting next to me for three years on the Lower Merion bench,” Treatment explained.

24 seconds put on the clock, Kobe’s Laker number.

“If everybody could stand in honor of the great Kobe Bryant,” Treatment asked the crowd.

“He was an old soul when it came to basketball,” stated referee Jimmy Moore.

Moore remembers the making of a star.

“When I had him in the All-Star game, he was the best player on the floor. You could tell, but he never acted like it. He just knew,” Moore remembered. He added, “It’s a shame, a shame. I feel really bad for his family. I feel bad for everybody.”

“It’s devastating. It’s shocking. It’s unreal. It can’t be real, it can’t be. I was almost too shocked to cry,” Treatment added.

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Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics Basketball Tournament

News came as Archbishop Woods’ junior Kaitlyn Orihel reached a record 1,000 points, Kobe style.

“He’s such an icon. He’s had such an impact on the game, so it’s terrible to see him go like this,” Orihel said.

Her stepdad grew up in the Kobe era.

“We all tried to emulate Kobe on the court,” Dino Pesarini stated. “He was a role model for a lot of young kids. Play hard and never give up.”

“And the game goes on. That would be Kobe’s message. The game goes on,” Treatment said.

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