Hoops tourney backs American Diabetes Association

HUNTLEY — A day of fun basketball games in a 3-on-3 format will benefit a cause near to many at the Huntley Park District and the area.

The Inaugural Chris Pacana Memorial 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tournament for boys and girls first through eighth graders will be held on April 6. It will benefit American Diabetes Association (ADA). Pacana was a long-time park district employee who passed away Jan. 1, 2023 at age 61.

The games will get started at 9 a.m., at Huntley Park District Rec Center and Marlowe Middle School. The contests are open to the public. A total of 72 teams will participate. Features of the day include a donors wall listing backers of ADA. Also, a sportsmanship award given to a player in each division named for the late Larry Cariato, who was a HPD coach, participant and youth football coach in Huntley.

Huntley Park District Executive Director Scott Crowe reflected about Pacana.

“Since I began working at the Park District in 2018, I quickly learned about Chris’s passion for the participants in our sports programs,” Crowe said. “He was dedicated to ensuring they had a good experience and the programs we offered were of high quality for the families involved  He had the pulse of many individuals in the sports world, notably referees. While many agencies struggled to find referees, the relationships Pacana built over time became a great benefit to our program. He was a volunteer coach in our community with his own children and carried that passion forward with future volunteer coaches and sports families.”

Crowe continued, “while many people knew him, many people also did not, as he was a master of things behind the scenes helping to ensure things went smoothly for our families in the field. I’m pleased we can offer this tournament in honor of him as I feel it is an appropriate legacy to his contributions to our programs for so many years.”

Pacana worked in some capacity for the Huntley Park District since December of 2009.