Unified basketball is now in the midst of their season with just two games left before the big tournament hosted at Home on May 13.

The tournament will be their last hurrah, especially since this is the last sports season of the year.

The Pumas have held the tournament for the last two years now, when only six teams signed up in the past. This year, they are up to 12, requiring usage of both gyms.

“I’m trying to keep the tradition going here at Perry,” head Unified Sports coach, Rose Escalante, said.

Hosting such an event does come with obstacles, however.

As head coach, Escalante is responsible for finding officials, score keepers, set-up crews, and a National Anthem singer. On top of that she creates the brackets, and when two teams dropped out earlier this season, those brackets had to be rearranged.

Team preparation for both future games and the tournament is critical as well, meaning members have been practicing Mondays and Thursdays after school from 2:30-3:35 p.m.

By adjusting practices to focus more on basketball fundamentals for this new team, learning how to play together will come naturally.

These fundamentals successfully set up the team for their first game; the Pumas won against Basha 42-40.

“The team did good despite not having our big guys,” Escalante said. Many teammates from last season graduated, leaving room for several new players that are “eager to learn.”

Unified basketball continues to gains the most participation in Special Olympics’ sponsored athletics.