Hoops tourney raises money for charity

Group shot of Rex6 players and family at the Danny Rumph basketball tournament.
Photo by Vincent Thompson, Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson office.

A team of South Philadelphia basketball players were recently honored for winning the 2021 Daniel “Danny” Rumph Tournament.

The annual charity tournament, which just completed its 16th year, brings together some of the best hoops talent on the East Coast.

South Philadelphia’s Rex6 was crowned this year’s champ after a thrilling 128-119 double-overtime victory over Team Chuck Ellis Workouts. Games took place during a five-day stretch in August at La Salle University.

City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson honored the winners with a special ceremony on Aug. 31 at City Hall Courtyard. Each Rex6 player and coach received an official citation from City Council. The ceremony is also in partnership with the Ralph Brooks Community Basketball League and Point Breeze Youth Development Basketball League.

The tournament honors the memory of Rumph, a Philadelphia native who played collegiate ball at Western Kentucky University. Rumph died at 21 in 2005 while playing a pickup game at the Mallery Recreation Center, which is now the Daniel E. Rumph II Recreation Center, in Germantown. Rumph’s death was caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest for today’s youth.

The tournament also raises money for the Philadelphia-based Daniel E. Rumph II Foundation, and aims to raise money and bring awareness to HCM. It also provides Automated External Defibrillators to community recreation centers across the state and CPR/AED training to the public in hopes to increase the chance of survival for those who may experience sudden cardiac arrest.