Playing in the searing late May heat on the black top of Bloch Park’s parking lot, players showed up to test their games and themselves in the Inaugural Selma Memorial Tip-Off Saturday.

The day featured a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a dunk contest and a 3-point shooting contest all to help raise money for the Selma High School football program.

Several Selma High players competed in the event and coaches refereed.

“We had a blast, a lot of fun,” Selma coach Woodrow Lowe Jr. said. “Anytime we’ve got these kids doing positive things, it’s always a good day.”

Of course, Lowe admitted that sometimes, watching some of his best athletes banging around on the hard asphalt made him nervous.

“Sometimes, but these kids have been playing for a long time and they’re going to play in the parks or whatever,” he said.

After the tournament, several of the players stayed to help put the bleachers and the goals up, joking around as they worked.

It was obvious Lowe and his staff have already begun working on team unity.

“It’s team unity, it’s camaraderie, it’s all of the above,” Lowe said. “We want to try and keep them around us as much as possible.

It’s very important to having a successful team.”