BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
NEW YORK—Boys from Woodside and Roberge elementary schools in River Vale, N.J., took center court recently at Madison Square Garden to play a mini basketball game as Junior Knicks before a regular-season New York Knicks game.
A sell-out crowd of more than 20,000 fans took in the kids’ full-court play. The players’ names were announced on the public address system and the game was broadcast with commentary on the arena’s GardenVision scoreboard
Parent Waldo Diaz told Pascack Press March 30 that four coaches and 18 boys from the River Vale Travel and Rec basketball teams put in a solid full-court 10-minute game. Most of the players, he said, hail from the third- and fifth-grade travel teams.
The final score at that Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 contest was 22-10, Junior Knicks Blue over Junior Knicks White.
After, the local contingent cheered on the Knicks in their overtime win, 136-134, over the Milwaukee Bucks.
And after that, the River Vale kids, boys and girls aged 4–14, were invited back to the court to put up free throws. Most of the kids who played in the mini-game sank their baskets.
Diaz, who works in sales for IBM and has been living in town for a decade, said it was his third year bringing young River Vale players and their families—90 folks in all the year—to the Garden.
He explained he put the event together with MSG contacts to help share the joy of basketball.
The kids got to take home their authentic Junior Knicks shorts and jerseys.
“They were thrilled. I’m sure the kids will be talking about this when they turn 18 and 21,” Diaz told Pascack Press.
The Knicks and Fidelis Care team up to organize Junior Knicks charity basketball games to support non-profit youth basketball organizations in the Tri-State area. The program helps organizations raise funds, generate visibility, and bring the community together for a friendly family-fun event.
— Photos/video courtesy Waldo Diaz.
