The Gold Medal Hall of Fame hit the century mark on Friday night as the late Ivan Gamble, Sr. became the 100th inductee, highlighting a class of three great players. Glen Padgett and George Erickson were honored as members No. 101 and 102, respectively, of the elite club.

It was an epic finish, fitting for the final game of the 63rd Juneau Lion's Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament. D.J. Lindstrom's put-back on his own missed layup with 2.9 seconds, secured Huna's 87-84 victory over Metlakatla.

It didn't seem as if Rudy Bean needed to score a basket as Kake won its fourth-straight C Bracket title 115-97 over Juneau's Filipino Community Saturday, but the crowd at the 63rd Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament was sure glad he did.

The Juneau Green Team flipped the leash on Klawock Saturday night, running away with a string of annoying little leads in the second half after clawing back from narrow deficits earlier in the game. When the final whistle blew, the smaller Green Team slipped off the chain with a 67-55 win to take the Masters Bracket title at the 63rd Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Juneau Green Team player Craig Kahklen, left, blocks Klawock Old Totems player John Garvey's shot attempt Saturday during the Masters Bracket championship game at Juneau-Douglas High School's main gym. The Green Team went on to take the game and the title.

C & MASTERS BRACKETS AWARD WINNERS

The Kake Oldtimers continued their march to a fourth-consecutive C Bracket title with a 107-80 drubbing of the Huna Totem Oldtimers Thursday night during the 63rd Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

C Bracket
Filcom 88, Angoon 78
Ongo Tupou scored 24 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Juneau's Filipino Community over Angoon 88-78 during Thursday's Gold Medal C Bracket game.

Phil Daetwiler's strong endgame play and clutch free throw shooting was enough for Angoon to grind out another tough 82-71 victory over Sitka Shee Atika in the C Bracket on Wednesday night at the 63rd Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Huna 79, Yakutat 60 Myron Martin stroked eight three-pointers on his way to a 35-point night for Huna. Martin came out firing in the first half and when Martin was not hitting from deep, Huna looked the ball into the paint for big man, Stuart Mills, who made his presence known with 12 points.

A Juneau NAPA team made of replacement players took Angoon into overtime Tuesday in the C Bracket of the Gold Medal Tournament.

Juneau Green Team's Kevin Casperson and Klukwan's Rob Hotch-Larose faced off in a long distance shoot-out, as the Green Team on Tuesday defeated Klukwan 87-52 in the Gold Medal Masters Bracket.

The Juneau Green Team chalked up a 90-70 victory against the Yakutat Old Timers by playing hard physical basketball and taking advantage of stamina reaped from a long season of local leagues.

Before Monday's C Bracket semifinal game, Juneau Filipino Community's player-coach Mike Lim said he wanted to control the tempo of the game by utilizing the team's size advantage. But the Kake Oldtimers had different plans and cruised into the semifinals with a 100-67 win Monday at the 63rd Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Huna prevailed over Sitka 69-65 in Monday morning's C-Bracket matchup in a classic Gold Medal seesaw battle.

Sunday evening's 2009 Gold Medal Mighty B-bracket matchup between Kake and Huna ANB packed the Juneau-Douglas High School gymnasium for an opening day overtime barn burner with Huna outlasting Kake 94-85.

There were no early tournament jitters for the two-time defending champion Kake Oldtimers as they pounded Angoon ANS 105-59 on opening day during the 63rd Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

We Serve." That is our mission as Lions. One purpose as a Lion is to take an active interest in the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of the community. Sixty-three years ago, Del Hanks came to members of the Juneau Lions Club and requested that they consider sponsoring a basketball tournament involving many of the community basketball teams from Southeast Alaska. After hearing Mr. Hanks speak about the fantastic teams he encountered during his local travels, the Lions decided to move forward on his request. After all, the Lions community is not just centered in Juneau; it is a regional, statewide and international organization.

Every spring Gold Medal brings a boost to a Juneau economy that would otherwise by hibernating through a customary slow stretch for local businesses. Hotels, restaurants, transportation companies and other retail businesses enjoy the sudden arrival of hundreds of players, coaches, friends and family members who come to town especially for the tournament. As the masses arrive, so do their pocketbooks.

The Gold Medal experience ends for most players and fans with each year's final tip of the hat or slap on the back. At least, that is what they think.

Thank you Gold Medal. I know my first experience of the most historically-significant, widest-drawing and biggest-hearted basketball tournament on the planet (according to my usual haircut lady) has yet to start. Still, there have been plenty of firsts already.

Imagine 700 rowdy fishermen, fresh off the boat from a bristling two-day sea voyage, elbowing out a seat in a gym that was built to hold hundreds less. Fueling their actions is a bitter regional rivalry that extends past basketball and into each of their wallets. Now blow a little whistle and tell the biggest guy in the gym he just fouled out of a close game.

The frozen hold of a commercial fishing ship might not sound like the best place to lay your head on a wet, wind-whipped Juneau night - much less six nights in a row. But for Herbie Didrickson and the early Gold Medal teams from Sitka, those make-shift rooms were all part of the fun.

1961 - Herb Didrickson, Duane Vincent, Gilbert Booth, Herman Ludwigson, John Mills, Moses Johnson, Robert "Jeff" David

Each year the Gold Medal tournament delivers electric performances from athletes who display a rare combination of skill and sportsmanship. Special players rise to special occasions, sparking their hometown brothers to championships the entire community can be proud of.

The first and last games of the 2009 Gold Medal tournament will pour sweat and tears across a balmy Juneau gym floor this week.

Kake's Kip Howard dunks the ball during a C bracket game against Angoon during the 2008 Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Metlakatla's Bryan Hayward goes for a layup past Sitka's Steve Walker and Matt Burrows (blocked from view) during a B bracket game during the 2008 Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.

Kake's Rudy Bean tries a steal against Filipino Community's Doug Drezkowski during the 2008 Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.