CourtKings look to extend reign
Charles City resident Gary Rima lifts the Midwest Basketball League championship trophy after the team he and his wife Marla own, the Cedar Valley CourtKings, won the first MBL title in 2016.
Basketball team owned by Charles City couple going for third-straight MBL title
Press Staff Report
Marla Rima is the Charles City High School cheerleading coordinator. And her husband is a pretty good cheerleader himself — for the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Gary Rima, a longtime radio host and UNI play-by-play announcer, has become one of the more recognizable voices of “March Madness”. His calls of Ali Farokhmanesh’s late 3-pointer helping lift the Panthers over No. 1-seed Kansas in the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and of Paul Jesperson’s half-court buzzer-beater over Texas in the first round of the 2016 tournament resonate with legend.
“Oh baby! I love this team!”
The Rimas also love another team — the Cedar Valley CourtKings.
The Charles City couple founded and own the team, which plays in the Midwest Basketball League. This weekend, the CourtKings will be vying for their third-straight MBL championships — the CourtKings have been the only MBL champion in a league amid its third season.
The MBL’s eight-team, single-elimination tournament will take place Friday through Sunday at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.
The No. 1-seed CourtKings will face the Springfield Panthers, 8 p.m. Friday.
The two teams faced each other on May 27 in Springfield, Ill. Both teams battled deep into the third quarter in a back and forth game that saw the Panthers hold a 6-point lead heading into the final quarter of play. But in the fourth, the CourtKings outscored their opponents 36-20 to rally ahead and hold on for the 126-116 win.
The winner of the rematch will face the winner of the Chicago Knights-vs.-Fort Wayne Vision first-round game at 6 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals
The championship game will be 3 p.m. Sunday.
After going undefeated through the regular season and postseason last year, the CourtKings are currently 15-1 this season with their lone loss coming from Northwest Division rival, T.C. Elite.
Fans can tune into the online radio call of the game at cvcourtkings.com.
MBL Playoffs, July 27-29 at Sexton Arena, Collegeville, Minn.
First Round, Friday, July 27
Indiana Fury vs. Dayton AirStrikers,
1 p.m.
T.C. Elite vs. Chicago Fury, 3:20 p.m.
Chicago Knights vs. Fort Wayne Vision, 5:30 p.m.
Springfield Panthers vs. Cedar Valley CourtKings, 8 p.m.
Semi-Finals, Saturday, July 28
IND/DAY vs. TCE/CHF, 3 p.m.
CHK/FTW vs. SPR/CV, 6 p.m.
Championship, Sunday,
July 29, 3 p.m
Facebook
Social Share