The gym in the Nickerson Gardens housing project can be an unfriendly place for anyone who dares to enter without a tough, competitive game of basketball.
Just ask the Latino players from East Wilmington who, in May, for the first time, drove 15 miles to Watts to join the project's Moonlight basketball league. When they walked on the court, they were greeted with a chorus of taunts, and someone in the crowd issued a blunt warning: "You better not bring any weak stuff in here!"
The 12 young men didn't flinch; they knew they would have to prove themselves if they wanted respect in a tournament dominated by African Americans.
They were shorter than the players on the other top teams, and not quite as fast. Still, they were every bit as tenacious, and at times a little cocky. They had grown up together, were confident in one another's games and knew that when all else failed, they could rely on their star player: Joey Saavedra, a 24-year-old sharpshooter and former Banning High School superstar who dropped out of sight four years ago after being convicted of attempted armed robbery.
Joey was back and ready to make a difference.
With the 6-footer leading the way, East Wilmington, one of four Latino teams participating in the 12-team tournament, began winning games and gaining the respect of the players and admiration of the fans.
"This is good for the community," said Donny Joubert, who runs the Moonlight league, an offshoot of midnight basketball programs established in the early '90s to reduce gang violence. "This is not just an African American gym."
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From the first tip-off of the tournament, all eyes were on Saavedra.
"He is a one-man show," said Coach Manuel Panduro. "But he also makes everybody else on his team play better."
Those in the stands noted Saavedra's cross-over dribble, his moves and his shooting accuracy.
"He plays with a lot of soul," said Hank Henderson, a recreation assistant at Nickerson Gardens. "Joey is gifted. He can shake and bake, drop back and hit a three-pointer or make a move like Michael Jordan."
In one dramatic finish, Saavedra knocked a ball out of the hands of an opposing player, ran down the court to catch a pass and laid the ball in the basket as the buzzer went off ending the game.
The stands emptied and a celebration broke out on the court. But then the referees denied the basket, declaring that the shot came too late, just after the buzzer. Saavedra's team won in overtime.
