Above: Shedrach Makanjuola, a University of Bridgeport player, slammed one home for the Mattapan team late in the game during last year’s Crew Love Neighborhood Rivalry game against Hyde Park. Seth Daniel photo
The Crew Love basketball tournament returns to the courts of Harambee Park in Dorchester this weekend featuring top-notch talent from Boston’s neighborhoods and rounds of rivalry games.
The Boston City Council will mark the occasion by declaring it “Crew Love Weekend” in the city of Boston at their Aug. 5 meeting, according to organizers.
“We are very excited for the weekend to start and it’s going to be action packed,” said co-organizer Jay Branch. “This is the 10th anniversary of the City games and it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere.”
A centerpiece of the weekend is the decade-old men’s Neighborhood Rivalry games in a new format. Instead of matching Hyde Park vs. Mattapan, and Dorchester vs. Roxbury in single games, the four teams will play in tournament format.
Mattapan will face Dorchester on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and Roxbury will face Hyde Park at 2:30 p.m. The winner of each game will square off for overall neighborhood bragging rights at 5:30 or 6 p.m. Last year Roxbury beat Dorchester despite a late surge by the Dot team.
The Crew Love 10-team, double elimination tournament will be played out throughout the weekend with most of the games on Sunday, with the championship on Sunday evening. The Members Only team has won back-to-back championships and will be taking the court looking to defend their titles.
The play of Dorchester’s DeVante ‘Bullet’ Jamison, above, was the spark his team needed in the 2025 tourney. Seth Daniel photo
Dorchester duo Keyon Jones (formerly of New Mexico State) and Lyron Bennett (TechBoston, Eastern New Mexico University) will look to fight off the tough ‘Scary Sight’ team, as well as the host teams that will try to make a run for the defending champs.
Friday evening will feature the kids tournament games, a four-team tilt with the championship game on Saturday around 3:30 p.m.
Organizers indicated all times are approximate.
The event comes from the passion of friends Ceasar Veal, Greg Jean, Andrew Angus, Richard Nichols, Phil Bell, Jay Branch, and Philip Jean from Dorchester, Roxbury, South End, and other parts of Boston who grew up competing in City League high school basketball, particularly for Charlestown High.
