Staten Island Bridges Command takes home inagural 'PAPD Madness' title By Staten Island Advance Sports Desk March 30, 2010, 10:01AM The first-ever Port Authority Police Department “PAPD Madness” Basketball Tournament took place in early March and the team from the Staten Island Bridges Command won the inaugural title. Overall, 16 teams from all 12 commands of the PAPD competed in the double elimination tournament at Fastbreak Basketball Center in Tottenville. The tournament was dedicated to the memory of three people in the PAPD family who were lost in 2009: Johnny Ray, 16-year-old son of Sgt. Raul Morales (of SIB); Daniela Harris, wife of retired Sgt. Nat Harris and P.O. Melba Boyles. Staten Island Bridges wore red just like Moore Catholic, where Ray played football and baseball before he was killed in a tragic car accident last year. No one wore No. 4, which was Ray’s number for the Mavericks. SIB was led by former College of Staten Island basketball standouts John Cali and Joe O’Leary, the tournament coordinator. CSI is also where Harris played and starred in college. Cali, a former CUNY Player of the Year and two-time CUNY Tournament MVP while at CSI, had 27 points in a 66-50 win over Port Authority Bus Terminal A in the championship, while O’Leary had 26 points. In the semifinals, Cali poured in 48 points to lead SIB past Newark Airport’s A squad, which featured Farrell product Tom Hassel and former York College standout Stanley O’Neil. The day’s best game was easily a four-overtime matchup between eventual winner Bus Terminal A and George Washington Bridge in the quarterfinals. Two teams from JFK and PATH, as well as Bus Terminal B, Newark Airport B, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, Word Trade Center, LaGuardia Airport, Port Newark and Special Operations also participated. While Fastbreak provided the perfect place, Crown Trophy made the awards — including memorial plaques for families of the three the tourney was dedicated to. Major League Screen Printing made the team shirts while Tottenville Bagels supplied the food. W’s Tavern hosted the post-tournament gathering. “It was a great day of camaraderie for everyone on the job who came and played or helped out,” said O’Leary, who hopes to use the event as a fundraiser for charity in the future. “This is something we would like to do every year.” © 2010 SILive.com. All rights reserved.
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