The WunderGlo Foundation's 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament

A week ago today, I got up early, loaded up the car, and headed to USC's Lyon Center for the culmination of a dream that started several months earlier. This would be the day of my Foundation's first event -- a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and silent auction -- and I was beyond excited. 

Now, after reflecting on it for a week, I can honestly say that the event exceeded my expectations, which were -- as all my expectations are -- pretty darn high. 

It was frantic at first, setting up the silent auction and getting the registration table together and delegating work to the dozens of wonderful friends and family who were there to help me. Almost in an instant, teams started pouring in: athlete after athlete, some wearing jerseys and some wearing matching t-shirts, all there to compete and to support The WunderGlo Foundation. In the rush of getting the tournament off the ground, I took a moment and scanned the gym. 

Players were shooting around, spectators were chatting, and people were checking out the silent auction items. My friends and family were there, enthusiastic and ready to tend to their various tasks (big shout-outs to my referees and scorekeepers, who worked the tournament all day long). My oncologist, Dr. Lenz, was there, smiling and taking in the action. My colleagues were there, on teams and as volunteers, doing their part to make sure my event was a huge success. My husband was there with his team and his camera, devoted to playing hard and taking great pictures throughout the day. My parents were there with whistles in hand, ready to ref their butts off. And Tim and Aymee were there, in their official capacity as officers of The Foundation and in their unofficial capacity as two of my best friends. My heart was full and my body felt great, not deterred by my last round of chemo but energized and ready to run the tournament and play some basketball.

It was a dream come true, and the first game hadn't even started.

After I gave a brief speech to the crowd (I was followed by Dr. Lenz, who gave a funny and inspiring talk (of course)), we were off to the races. Three full courts of basketball, 5 games going on at the same time (we played half court games), and the street team at DJ Scratch Academy (that's where I take my DJ lessons) on the ones and twos, providing the soundtrack to the event that kept everyone's energy up. A couple of hours later, we all chowed down on a delicious vegan lunch from Sage Vegan Bistro. And by 5:30pm, our men's championship game was underway, wowing everyone who watched the incredible competitors go toe to toe.

At the end of the day, we raised over $11,000 for the beneficiaries of the tournament: Fight Colorectal Cancer and the USC Norris GI Oncology Program. We had hundreds of people come out to the event and everyone seemed like they had a great time. I've already heard many people ask when the next tournament would be (answer: next year, around the same time). 

I couldn't have asked for a more incredible, satisfying experience. The WunderGlo Foundation is off to a fantastic start. 

Oh, and what team won the women's championship? I'll give you one guess.