By Derek Thompson
The Selma Times-Journal

The TNA Heat, a travel league basketball organization based out of Selma and Tuscaloosa, showed the advantages of playing in front of a supportive home crowd as it hosted its third annual Selma Invitational Saturday and Sunday.

Letti Hasberry, one of the program directors for the TNA Heat, said the players from Selma on the team were extra excited to play in the tournament because their families were able to watch them.

“We travel so much, some of the families don’t get a chance to see their kids,” Hasberry said. “They were really excited to get a chance to play in front of their families.”

A total of 59 games this past weekend were played at R. B. Hudson Middle School, School of Discovery, Wallace Community College Selma and Ellwood Christian Academy.

The family-like atmosphere helped the TNA Heat’s ninth-and-tenth grade boys’ teams each to finish first in the tournament followed by the sixth-and-seventh grade girls finishing second and first in that order.

“I saw a bunch of kids that were happy to come out and compete, and happy to be in front of their home crowd because some of their parents don’t actually get to go and travel,” said program director Randy Fincher. “They were extremely excited to play in front of their full family.”

The travel league’s youth girls, sixth grade boys, seventh grade boys, eighth grade boys, middle school girls, ninth grade boys, tenth grade boys and eleventh grade boys teams competed against 35 teams from 16 organizations.

Hasberry said the visiting teams enjoyed the tournament as much as the local players, but for a different reason.

“The other teams were super excited because they wanted to go sightseeing and see the bridge,” Hasberry said. “I think a lot of the teams that came from out of town were more excited about the fact that they were coming to Selma than the tournament because they wanted to sightsee. When they weren’t playing they would go to the bridge and other places.”

The money from this weekend’s tournament and a tournament they hosted in Tuscaloosa on June 5-7 was divided to alleviate the costs of travel and hotel fees for each team for their upcoming out-of-state tournaments in New Orleans, Louisiana, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Pensacola, Florida in July and August.

For more information about the TNA Heat or to send donations contact Hasberry at letti4230@yahoo.com.