Prairie Basketball League far exceeding expectations this year

The commissioner of the Prairie Basketball League says this year's success really validates all of the hard work that has been put in. 

Abram Razon says they thought the winter league had an awesome turnout, but the league has grown from there. 

“We wrapped up our winter league for the 2022-23 season in late February but two weeks prior to that winter league ending, there were a lot of requests from the players and the parents to come up with a spring league and so that is exactly what we are doing now” He adds it is even bigger, noting “We added 10 more teams so we have 31 teams in total and 3 more divisions added.” 

Razon says they were playing at the high school this past Saturday and with the way parking is laid out, it really showed just how many people show up for PBL. He notes even he was taken aback by just how many vehicles were in the parking lot and along the road. 

Having originally started out as the South Eastman Filipino Association Basketball League, Abram Razon says it has been rewarding to see the newly rebranded Prairie Basketball League thrive as they opened it up to everyone. 

“This is something that Steinbach has needed for a long time and for everybody who has been waiting for this, to come back and play and also for those who are experiencing this for the first time and also for the youth growing up and having something that we didn’t have when we were growing up, it is just amazing to see all of the different demographics to come together and enjoy what we have.” 

He may be the commissioner, but Razon says so many others have stepped up to help out. 

“There has been a lot of support from the community, a lot of support from volunteers and everybody is in it, enjoying it. Especially since we have added a kid's division as well from ages 5 to 10. There are a lot of parents involved and it has been a really, really good experience so far.” 

All of this success has given them the drive to plan for even bigger and better things. He notes the spring league wraps up on June 17th but before we get there, they are planning an All-Star game on June 3rd and the whole community is invited to enjoy the festivities. 

“We would love to have everybody there to get the place rocking. We will be having a 3-point shootout competition as well and a slam dunk contest which is the first time we have ever done that.”