Update: Mercer Island Players Shine at Spokane Hoopfest

Update: The MI Skittles, a team of eighth-grade girls from Mercer Island, came in second in their division at the Spokane Hoopfest after losing game two and fighting their way back through the bracket to the final. They lost to the same team twice, but by only 3 points in the final.

Mercer Island was well-represented at the Spokane Hoopfest three-on-three basketball tournament this weekend, including two teams that took a home a championship in their respective brackets.

The "Islanderz" team of Michael Bantle, Brandon Lawler, Megan Diamond and Olivia Snell took the championship in their co-ed division. The team started the tournament with four straight victories, before needing two chances to get past losers bracket winners "Pullman Superheroes" in the champi0nship round.

The "Bro Ballers" group, which was made up of Nick Taylor, Joey Warfield, Evan Shaddle and Logan Comer won the championship in their bracket. The team rattled off five straight victories to cruise to the title.

The team of "Kobe Sucks," which included Teddy Van der Velden, Keegan Ogard, Daniel Sims and Aidan Plummer got off to rough start, losing their first game, before rebounding with two straight victories in the losers bracket. The group lost its fourth game to be eliminated.

The "Free Willies" team of Nate Schuler, Matt Seifert, Sam Lehman and Gabe Jacobson had a similar fate in the same bracketm, losing their first game before winning two straight. The "Free Willies" were eliminated in their fourth game.

Spokane Hoopfest is the single biggest three-on-three tournament in the world, featuring over 6,700 teams and drawing an average attendance of 200,000 fans and players to the event.