A young man with the American flag tattooed on his right arm removes his prosthetic legs and gears up for play by rolling back and forth in his wheelchair. It’s game time.
AU’s Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity hosted the third annual U.S. Armed Forces Wheelchair Basketball Game March 29 in Bender Arena.
Ill and wounded veterans from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., took on the National Rehabilitation Hospital Ambassadors in a neck-and-neck contest to raise awareness for people with disabilities.
Pi Kappa Phi brothers solicited donations at the door to benefit the U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Military Program and Push America, the national outreach project of Pi Kappa Phi that aims to build leaders by helping people with disabilities today.
“We’ve raised more than $10,000 in the last two years for soldiers and civilians with disabilities,” Nameir Abbas, the event’s chairman said. “This year, we are redoubling our efforts and have increased our goal to $10,000 for the year.”
Wheelchair basketball is similar to traditional basketball, but it also contains many modified and new moves.
The players seamlessly defend using a man-to-man defense that contains tight, jerky spins and physical contact that takes cues from “Murderball,” a documentary about paraplegics who play rugby in heavy-duty wheelchairs.
During the second half of the game, a participant for the Ambassadors glided down the court at full speed as he dribbled around his chair. As he entered the lane, he pulled the ball up, jolted his chair backwards and took a shot, creating a new version of the pump fake.
Collisions often occur, but when a player would fall face first, he was able to push himself up with ease.
Ollie Cantos, a top Department of Justice Attorney, and his three sons addressed the crowd at halftime. The four discussed blindness, a disability they all have in common; the importance of service; and gratitude for the veterans.
Nick Cantos spoke about his love for video games and how he wishes there were more games for blind kids. He even asked for tips on how to beat levels in games such as Mario Kart and Dragon Ball Z.
“I am serious,” he insisted to a laughing crowd.
“We get to have fun tonight, but we also have to think about how we can optimize our talents for the good of the world,” Ollie Cantos said in his closing remarks.
Walter Reed held a narrow 23-18 lead at halftime that the Ambassadors slowly broke, knotting the game at 45 apiece with 40 seconds remaining.
Walter Reed then stole the ball from the Ambassadors and knocked in a layup to put them on top 47-45, not leaving enough time for the Ambassadors to come back.
“Doing things with people with disabilities has always been a big part of our fraternity,” Pi Kappa Phi brother Dylan Houle said.
The game is the fraternity’s largest service project of the year, Houle said.
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