Law enforcement competing to bring home the winning trophy - - KTEN

WINDOM, Texas (KTEN) -- Red River Hoops hosted their fourth annual heroes classic basketball tournament to honor first responders from Dallas, Anna, Sherman and Denison.

"We thought this would be a great opportunity, to give back to our heroes around the community, first responders, and give them a chance to play basketball, said Director of Operations for Red River Hoops, Michael Granstaff. "And we got some close ties with law enforcement and this is just a way to give back to our heroes."

Each team looking for the chance to bring home the trophy for the top first responder basketball team.

"We're pretty competitive. We got a few that played in college," said Austin Ross with Sherman Police Department. "We're all pretty competitive, and it kills me that I'm not out there with them, but hopefully we win. That's the goal."

One first responder says he enjoys playing the game.

"I mean anytime I get the chance to play basketball, I'll play," said Perry Strickland with the Dallas Police Academy. "I don't care where it's at. The guy at the rec's program here, hit us up, needed some players and some teams to come out. So i try to support whenever I can. I'm a big advocate for community."

And one local hero tells us why he decided to join for his first year.

"My look at it is, it's nice for us to get back with the community. You know, doing stuff like this, it kind of helps get the community out. They support us. We support them," said Chris Eichler with Denison Police Department.

Red River Hops dreaming big, to make this a charitable event nationwide.

"I've reached out to different states, trying to get different states to come in, and I like to be able to call this the national championship of first responders," said Granstaff.

source: https://www.kten.com/story/45764135/law-enforcement-competing-to-bring-home-the-winning-trophy

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