Four Vineyard high school basketball players will be competing alongside the best of the Cape and Islands in the annual Cape Cod high school all star basketball game on March 16 in Hyannis.
Sophomores Jacoby Light and Landan Lepine will play on the boys team, while seniors Piper Blau and Agatha Rodrigues will be representing Martha’s Vineyard on the girls side. Sixteen other schools will be represented on these teams.
Longtime basketball official Al Faria has been leading the all-star games for 35 years. In February, Mr. Faria reaches out to all the coaches in the league and asks them to pick their top players. From there, he creates the rosters.
“Every coach that sends me back their list and their number one pick will be chosen so that every school is represented,” he said. “I have to pivot according to how many people we can put in the game [and the positions they play].”
The selection process can be tricky, as Mr. Faria says height can play a huge factor.
“I’ve been doing it for 35 years and at times I get frustrated that some people aren’t in the game that should be,” he said.
There will be prizes and games for fans that Mr. Faria organizes himself. A large part of the fun is the fans themselves, he said.
“I go out and purchase gift certificates,” he said. “I give cash prizes, brand new basketballs, new speakers so that fans don’t just come at halftime to watch the clock.”
Last year’s game was the first one held after the Covid-19 pandemic and drew large crowds, according to Mr. Faria. He hopes this year’s games will be the same.
“It was so encouraging to see all the people rooting for the all-stars. We hope to do that again this year for both games,” he said. “We have a lot of fun with these.”
The games will be held Sunday, March 16 at Hyannis Youth and Community Center. The girls game starts at 1:15 p.m. and the boys game starts at 3:30 p.m.
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