By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
On the weekend of March 21-22, the Walpole Youth Basketball Association (WYBA) hosted its 23rd annual 3-on-3 tournament for 203 boys and 95 girls in grades 2-8 at the Walpole Middle School.
Under the leadership of 3v3 Coordinator Khalil Samara, the players comprised 88 teams who participated in the round robin tournament for two days of their own madness in March. That’s a 22 percent increase in enrollment from 2025.
There was a definite Dunkin Donuts theme to the entire event. There were Dunkin-related team names, costumes and hats on many players. Chandler and Tucker Sullivan volunteered both days of the event and were then rewarded with Dunkin treats.
The lightheartedness of the weekend is highlighted before the opening start for each game. How do we determine who takes the ball out first? Rock, paper, scissors.
Some of the benefits of the newer middle school include the ability to utilize 8’ rims and play music throughout the tournament.
The 60 boys’ teams got the ball rolling on 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning with second and third graders then continuing with each grade until grades 7 & 8 finished up their finals at 6 p.m. The 8th graders had only two teams in 2025 but grew to nine teams this year.
The boys championship teams were:
Grade 2 – Shreks - Hudson Bettenhausen, Dustin Braconi, Oliver Cochrane, Drew Currin
Grade 3 – Court Kings - Johnny Recco, Luke Chadwick, CJ Retos, Aidan Ouelette
Grade 4 – The Baconators - Timothy Moses, Reece Harrington, Mason Ledo
Grade 5 – Balling Bananas - Owen McElaney, Jack Lazzaro, Matthew Cunniffe, Benjamin Bausemer
Grade 6 – ABCs - Sam Kushner, Paddy Connors, Teddy Brown
Grade 7 - Loot Lake Shooters - TJ Mulgrew, Alex McCabe, Adam Procaccini, Kyle Roberts
Grade 8 - Three Amigos Part 2 - Lucas Hicks, Chris Casto, Isaac Pereira
The 2nd and 3rd grade girls tipped off at 9AM Sunday. With eight minute games and up to six round robin games per team, some teams got a full NBA length game of 48 minutes of playing time. The girls’ games, involving 28 teams, showcased all of their basketball skills.
The champions of each girls’ division were:
Girls
Grade 2 – Nightmares of Elm Street - Maeve Soares, Faelynn Smith, Molly Dresser
Grade 3 – Doggie Dunkers - Leilani Sawyer, Scarlett Anzalone, Colby McCabe, Reese Schlittler
Grade 4 – Three Leaf Clovers - Maddie Dixon, Emily Hernon, Fiona Lydon
Grade 5 – Red Hot Hoopers - Olivia Clifford, Evelyn Saulog, Alara Martin
Grade 6 – Alvin & the Chipmunks – Siena Cullen, Tessa Anzalone, Brynn Sullivan
Grade 7 – Hoop There It Is - Samantha Hernon, Gabbie Rodriguez, Madilyn Donnelly, Madison Farrell
The goals of the tournament are to promote the organizational skills of the children as well as allowing them to enjoy a day of basketball with their friends with minimal adult direction.
Besides basketball, the tournament encourages and rewards teamwork, spirit and creativity. Each team can create their own uniforms, pick their teammates and team name. The teams that most demonstrate sportsmanship, positivity and creativeness win a spirit award. While the basketball winners are easily chosen by the numbers on the scorepads, the spirit award winners are difficult to pick between since so many teams do such a tremendous job.
The spirit award winners for 2026 were:
Girls
Grade 2 – Barista Ballers - Anne Dixon, Reese Goguen, Finley Carty
Grade 3 – Munchkins - Quinn Alexander, Claire Cunniffe, Whitley Muir, Matina Garopolous
Grade 4 – Nee Doh Dunkers - Giuliana Bertoldi, Kinsley Wilbur, Amelia Alosco
Grade 5 – Hoop Queens - Eleanor Neufeld, Emily Shatas, Ellie Olohan, Rose Cronin
Grade 6 – Triple Scoops - Natalie Lynch, Emily Farrell, Panagiota Giannopoulos, Emily Flores
Grade 7 – Slam Dunk Smurfs - Angelina Molari, Scarlet Boulos, Shea Lydon
Boys
Grade 2/3 – Net Ninjas - Kellan Bryan, Kaiden Carve, Robbie Naughton, Ethan Saulog
Grade 4 - Hawaiians - Bodhi Pinheiro, Johnny Delaney, Charlie Crabbe, Rocco Gulla
Grade 5 – Bench Warmers - Joseph Fellini, Tobey Todisco, Jason Touhey
Grade 6 - Cut Ya Hair - Landry Sawyer, Bobby Klotz, Ellis Denitzio
Grade 7 – Banana Ballers - James Toomey, Danny Huxley, Ciaran Og Martyn, Eamon Jenkins
Grade 8 – Dough Boyz!! - Owen Domineau, Jackson Gray, Lucas Bran
All champions were awarded gift cards from Rita’s in Walpole.
The WYBA is discussing many ideas for an expansion of the tournament going forward.
The future is bright for youth basketball in Walpole !
