By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) announced the brackets for this year. TBT 2019 will feature more than 60 players with NBA experience, 23 college alumni teams and international professionals playing in top leagues across the world.
Sixty-four teams will be split into eight Regionals to be played over the final two weekends in July. The winner of each Regional will advance to Championship Week in Chicago, Aug. 1-6, where the event will culminate with a winner-take-all game for $2 million.
The EuroLeague-filled Team Hines, led by none other than CSKA‘s Kyle Hines, features many European stars and will try to challenge the four-time reigning champs Overseas Elite. Team Hines got the top seed in Greensboro which is hosted by Team CP3 (Chris Paul’s team) on July 19-21.
Overseas Elite is the reigning four-time champions and on a perfect 25-win streak. They won’t have Errick McCollum’s help this year but don’t lack the star power to go all the way this year as well. Of course, the squad got the No. 1 seed and will play in Richmond, hosted by Ram Nation (VCU Alumni) on July 26-28.
Team Hines and Overseas Elite are on the opposite sides of the brackets and could potentially clash only in the Final.
Gran Canaria’s DJ Strawberry will also be part of the tournament as a member of Team Challenge ALS, started by former Boston College star Sean Marshall to honor his college roommate Pete Frates (who made the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge famous).
It should also be noted that Iowa’s Megan Gustafson, women’s college basketball player of the year, will compete in this summer’s tournament.