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Mostly Cloudy Bellmore-Merrick basketball league is a slam dunk
Sunday Morning Men’s League shoots hoops, 40 years in the making
For decades, members of the Bellmore-Merrick Sunday Morning Men’s League have been playing basketball. While the people who participate have changed, grown older — and younger — over the last 40 years, the love of the game hasn’t changed.
And on March 3, the league gathered for a tournament that took place at Merrick Avenue Middle School, where the league meets weekly on Sunday morning’s for friendly matches. The tournament resembled the inaugural in-season tournament hosted by the NBA between Nov. 3 and Dec. 9, 2023.
What started as casual, fun play has evolved into a league that’s event attracted sponsors, like Wilson Sporting Goods, the main manufacturer of basketballs in the U.S., and the official sponsor of the NBA and NCAA.
“A lot of friendships have been made over the years,” Robert Mann, who plays in the league told the Herald. “It’s gotten to be a little bigger than a Sunday or Saturday morning thing.”
