Athletes travel Road to NABI
Athletes travel Road to NABI
By Jerry W. Kram
Being an athlete means wanting to test yourself against the very best. For Native American high school basketball players, that means entering the Native American Basketball Invitational tournament held in Phoenix every July. This year, for some of those teams, the Road to NABI ran through hardwood floors of New Town.
Fort Berthold Reservation played host to the Road to NABI tournament last weekend. According to tournament director Kevin Finley, the tournament is expected to become an annual event and will serve as a regional qualifier for the national tournament. The winning boys and girls teams will have the $500 entry fee to the NABI tournament paid. The tournament is open to players who have completed ninth through 12th grade this spring.
“This is a direct link to the NABI tournament which will have more than 150 teams,” Finley said. “Teams come from all over the United States. It’s the biggest tournament I’ve ever seen or been a part of.”
Fourteen teams from North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana signed up for the tournament, but Finley said some canceled. Four girls teams and three boys teams took the floor for the opening round games on Thursday.
