BRAMPTON- The memory of a popular local basketball player will live on this weekend during the second annual King Fee Classic basketball tournament.
The two-day event runs Saturday and Sunday at the Brampton Soccer Centre with money raised going to Sick Kids Hospital. Kofi Ankoma-Mensa (known by the nickname King Fee) died of cancer on Nov. 15, 2010.
He had been a star on the basketball court, playing for teams including CIA Bounce, Team Ontario and Team Canada and had committed to a NCAA basketball scholarship.
Tragically he was afflicted by a rare and aggressive form of cancer, Mesothelioma of the small intestine. While he was treated at several hospitals in the United States and Canada he was particularly moved by the treatment he received at Sick Kids. His dying wish was to raise money for children suffering from cancer at Sick Kids.
His friends have taken up the cause and want to raise $32,000 in honour of his jersey number, 32 to be used for Mesothelioma cancer research.
Games run on Saturday from 12:30 p.m.. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., with an all-star game and entertainment scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Participants at the first tournament last year included Anthony Bennett who went on to become the first Canadian selected first in the NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Teams pay a registration fee but money will also be raised through sponsorship and spectator donations and those unable to attend can donate online at http://my.sickkidsdonations.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1749594.
There will also be raffles with a number of valuable prizes, including an autographed jersey from NBA Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers, tickets to a game between Portland and the Toronto Raptors, Nike gear and autographed merchandise from NBA players Bennett and Tristan Thompson of Cleveland and Andrew Nicholson of the Orlando Magic.
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