Arlington's firefighters and police officers squared off on the courts of the Frozen Sports Arena at Marymount University Saturday afternoon to raise money for victims of the tsunamis that flooded beaches in Southeast Asia.
Firefighters took the lead over police early in the game, but according to Arlington County Police team coach Ron Files, the cops rallied.
"Of course, I did my Bobby Knight routine on them," Files said.
Officer Aaron Queen led the cops in scoring with 17 points. Officer Kevin Treakle also led the team with 10 assists.
"It was a great afternoon, a very competitive game. They put on a great show for the crowd.”
Files said the idea for a charity basketball game was the product of a meeting between the chiefs of both departments, drawn together by the common cause of helping tsunami victims.
"We talked about what we could do for tsunami relief a few months ago," said Files. "We knew we wanted to do something more, and we're always into sports."
Files and Mike Staples of the Arlington County Fire Department organized the event with the help of Marymount, which granted the use of its court.
Putting the game together, Files said, was a daunting task.
"Whoever does this at the MCI Center better be paid well," Files said. "The logistics are much more difficult than we thought."
Yet the first "Bravest vs. Finest" game was complete with cheerleaders, drill teams and, most importantly, fans. The cops beat out the firefighters 49 to 39.
FILES SAID he hopes to keep the police team alive to play again in the future, be it basketball, softball or a charity football game. The "Bravest vs. Finest" game, he added, will become an annual event.
The game raised $1,338 for CARE, an international humanitarian aid organization. The funds will help relief efforts in countries like Somalia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India after the deadly Dec. 26 tsunami. According to a statement from CARE, about 159,000 people are reported dead. Many more are deemed missing. CARE reports that 1.1 million people have also been displaced from their homes.