TO NEW YORK APRIL 14-17
Boynton Beach Police Department, Christ Fellowship Church, and sponsors give young men a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at the Necelina McDonald Memorial Foundation basketball tournament in Brooklyn, NY
Boynton Beach, Fla. – (April 10, 2023) The City of Boynton Beach is excited to announce that the 19-and-under All-Star Police Athletic League (PAL) Basketball Team will compete at the Necelina McDonald Memorial Foundation (NMMF) basketball tournament on April 14 – 17. The Boynton Beach team, one of thirty-eight and the only team from Florida will compete at St. Edmund Preparatory High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Thanks to the generous contributions of the league’s main sponsor, Christ Fellowship Church of Boynton Beach, these talented teens will have the opportunity of a lifetime to play ball in New York at an all-expenses paid tournament representing the City of Boynton Beach,” said Bill Tome, Boynton Beach PAL Basketball Program Manager. “The memories made will last a lifetime and will serve to keep these teens on the right track.”
Christ Fellowship Church in Boynton Beach will host a send-off dinner and prayer with the City Mayor Ty Penserga and Police Chief Joe Degiulio at the Boynton Beach Police Department on Wednesday, April 12. The team leaves at 5 a.m. sharp on Friday, April 14, from the Boynton Beach Police Department.
Over forty local teens aged 17 – 19 tried out for the all-star team for the opportunity to travel to New York to compete in the tournament. Twelve talented players, half residing in Boynton Beach and the other half from within Palm Beach County, were selected to play in the tournament known to have multiple college scouts in attendance.
The team’s first game begins on Friday, April 14, at 9:00 p.m. The team will then play two games on Saturday, hoping to make it to the Championship game on Sunday. The teens will end the trip with a Sunday night celebratory dinner in Times Square and head home Monday, April 17.
Team members include Tareeq Anderson, Par ‘Qaveon Andrews, Carlson-Beaumont, Jordan Brown, Hugues Camille, Juwan Dawes, Zayin Humber, Decarious Jenkins Jr., Jaiden Miller, Jean Saint Fort, Jacob Schecter, and Tony Wade.
The All-Star team is sponsored by the City of Boynton Beach, Boynton Beach Police Department, Christ Fellowship Church of Boynton Beach, the Bill Tome Foundation, and the CETA Foundation. For more sponsorship opportunities, contact Program Director Bill Tome at 561-702-4887.
ABOUT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: Founded in 1994 by longtime Boynton Beach Police Officer Bill Tome, PAL advocates to help inner city, at-risk youth in school and with after-school programs. Due to a lack of funding, the program ended in 2011. At the recent request of Boynton Beach City Manager Dan Dugger, Mr. Tome came out of retirement to reinstate the program. The PAL program provides the opportunity for teens to view Police Officers as mentors or coaching figures; someone they can trust and ask for life advice. They strive to provide structure, and discipline, and serve as an opportunity to change the course of teens’ lives for the better.