By Kim J. Harmon

Some 80 teams took to the basketball court at Newtown High School last Saturday for the second annual John Giorno Memorial 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament and with all the action on the floor, the silent auction battles, the raffles and the food it made for yet another exciting day of basketball.

“We had a good day,” said organizer John Quinn. “There was a lot of good people and a lot of good prizes. It was unbelievable.”

The event began last year as a benefit to the family of John Giorno, a longtime coach and supporter of Newtown youth basketball who passed away after a brief battle with cancer. More than $9,000 was raised last year, but Quinn announced that the 2003 tournament has already surpassed that amount with some counting still to be done.

Besides all the action on the floor – and there was some exciting action, too, especially in the Grades 9 and 10 Girls division where Bethel defeated Newtown in a best-of-three series – there was some amazing silent auction items that engendered some aggressive bidding.

Like the Pepsi/Mountain Dew© snowboards and the Pepsi/Sobe© snowboard signed by musical group Papa Roach, tickets to the Knicks-Lakers NBA game; a signed Providence College basketball jersey, tickets to a New York Mets game, a basketball shoe signed by Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers and the cast of the hit television show Spin City, a Shaquille O’Neal signed basketball, two Ken Griffey Jr. signed baseballs, a pair of Playstation2 consoles, a Donovan McNabb mini football helmet, and much, much more.

After a full day of action, these were the first- and second-place teams in each division –

Grades 3 and 4: 1. The Gators Four (Sean Ross, Daniel Gallagher, Ben Stoller, Kyler Harmeling), 2. 3 Point 3’s (Ty Slavick, John Elwood, Aidan Kuroski, Michael Elwood).

Grades 5 and 6 Girls: 1. Devil Hawks (Sara Kelley, Katie Bowen, Ally Modzelewski, Susan Mason), 2. Rebels (Steph Suhoza, Kristen Tanner, Nicole Elias, Jen Daily).

Grades 5 and 6 Boys: 1. Da Magic (Andy Lapple, Kevin O’Donnell, Xhulio Halili, George Zaruba), 2. Raptors (Kule Kromberg, Peter Young, Nick Nazer).

Grades 7 and 8 Girls: 1. Nets (Katie Condon, Jen Brill, Katie Schmidt), 2. Thunder (Beenish Ansari, Kelly Tenney, Morgan Knees).

Grades 7 and 8 Boys: 1. Air Force 1’s (PJ Cochrane, Dylan Clark, Jake Burg, Mitch Rucinski), 2. Chosen 1’s (Danny Smith, Jason Smith, Paul Andras, Tucker LaPak).

Grades 9 and 10 Girls: 1. Bethel Blast (Kari Svenson, Sara Oberhammer, Megan Wax), 2. Freshman Chicks (Darcy Fiscella, Jill Logan, Christie Iwanicki, Sam Wong).

Grades 9 and 10 Boys: 1. 1/2  Man, 1/2  Amazing (Joe DeVellis, Matt Bowden, Chris Wowk, Dan DiBuono), 2. G Unit (Shaun Coakley, Mike Tibbetts, Tad Pierson, Max Reed).

20+: 1. Coast to Coast (Erik Young, Nick Ziem, Kenny Ziem, Jason Runge), 2. Trains (Gary Jossick, Scott Lavelle, Rich Seman, Mario Lambiase).

And these were the (as of now) unclaimed prizes –

Silent Auction: UConn women’s gift set and WCSU camp (Jeff Baron), golf shirts (Diane Iorfino), autographed Ken Griffey ball (Jeff DiNicola), Iona Gift Set (Michael Zaccaro), golf video game (Janis Sajovic), golf balls and NHL video game (John Sandison), New York Mets box seats (Bobby LeBlanc), Jen Rizzotti autographed basketball (Ally Modzelewski), Boston University camp (Cooper family), Boston University camp (DeVellis family), Fairfield University tickets (Boland family).

Note: Please pick up prizes at the Newtown Park and Recreation office … ideally before the end of the month. To the DiNicola family, call 270-7275 and leave a phone number so someone can contact you.

Raffle Prizes: ‘Rock’ Basketball (ticket #544623, O’Donnell), autographed Hofstra mini basketball (ticket #494617), Timex© sports watch (ticket  #494359, Schmidt), gift basket (ticket #494565, Katie Bowen), NHS sweatshirt XL (ticket #494404), ultrasonic cleaner (ticket #494578), gift certificate to Nick’s Restaurant (ticket #494532, Lawrence).