The 63rd Harry Agganis Invitational Basketball Tournament begins Friday at the memorial gymnasium named for him at St. George Greek Orthodox Church Community Center on the Lynn Common.
The event has run consecutively since 1956, a year after his untimely death in at the age of 26.
“The St. George Greek community was so moved that they established the tournament to perpetuate his name and life, celebrating one of the greatest Greek-American athletes ever,” said Bill Booras, who organizes and runs the event.
Up to 25 teams, both from high school and elementary school levels will participate. There will be a men’s open division, and players from throughout the United States are expected to participate.
Three gyms will be in use for the tournament: St. George’s, St. Mary’s and Fecteau-Leary.
The tournament gets underway at St. George’s with the church’s men’s team playing the Hellenic All-Stars from Boston, a new entry.
Following that game, a team out of Chicago will play a group from Roslindale. The Chicago players are returning after an absence of several years.
Also playing Friday, in the boys high school division, a team from St. George’s will play last year’s champions from Bridgeport, Conn., followed by Weston vs. Roslindale.
The St. Mary’s gym will feature, beginning at 6 p.m., a boys team from Peabody against one from Andover; and Arlington vs. St. Nick’s of Albany, N.Y.
In the men’s division at St. Mary’s, Albany’s team will face St. Vasilios of Peabody.
The action continues beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, where, again, all three gyms will be in use.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, the 13th annual “Maz” Award, named for former Lynn School Committeeman George Mazareas, will be presented to Nick Vidas from Chicago, who participated in many tournaments in the past, and played against Mazareas.
Vidas is a Greek-American all-star player both in the U.S. and overseas.
The award was established in 2000 after Mazareas, who also played professionally in Greece, was stricken with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The award recognizes individuals who display passion and courage and maintain the competitive spirit of fair play, said Booras.
The final tournament games will be at St. George’s Sunday.
