The boys and girls basketball teams from the Ramona Gardens Boys and Girls Club played in this year’s Mamba League final tournament, held March 17 at USC’s Galen Center.
For the second year in a row, both teams from the Boys and Girls Club in Whittier took the championship with team “Clubhouse” winning the Girls Division and team “Gold” taking the Boys Division title.
Prior to the tournament’s final round match-ups, with hundreds of parents and family members cheering in the stands, ten players were recognized with the Mamba Mentality Award for exemplifying the five Bryant-inspired Mamba Mentality league pillars: passion, optimism, fearless, focus and honesty.
Ramona Gardens’ own Amy Mérida received the Fearless Mamba Mentality Award. The seven-year-old was recognized for never giving up on the court and giving her very best all season.
This year, 600 eight-to-ten year-old kids from seven Boys & Girls Club sites across Los Angeles played in Nike and Kobe Bryant’s Mamba League, created to give youth the skills to elevate their confidence both on and off the court.
The league enrolls an equal number of girls and boys teams and is inspired by Bryant’s mission to make a positive and lasting impact on youth through basketball. According to Nike, the League empowers coaches to give girls and boys the skills to elevate their confidence on and off the court.
The league is part of Made To Play, Nike’s worldwide campaign to get kids moving.
This story was updated on March 25 to reflect correct number of players.
