Who's Got Next? New Nationwide Five-On-Five Basketball Tourney Announced

A group backed by Tony Ponturo and Andy Dolich yesterday announced the launch of a nationwide, five-on-five, winner-take-all basketball tournament with a payout of $500,000. The event is being called The Basketball Tournament. It will feature 32, 7- to 9-player teams that are selected based on the size of their fan base. Teams will need a minimum of 100 fans to be selected. There are no rules about who can play. It could be former NBA players, college players or amateurs. Octagon is helping manage the event. It was created by Jonathan Mugar, a TV producer, and Vin Martelli, a Boston-based business consultant. The tournament will take place in Philadelphia June 6-8. A final game will be played on June 28 at a location selected by “fans” who sign up online to support the teams in the tournament. The long term plan is to secure media coverage and sponsorships to support the event, but the inaugural competition will not have that.