By: Julio Olmo

Games being broadcasted by two sports divisions of a major television network, a proclamation by the city of Indianapolis making Sunday June 23rd “BIG 3 Day” and a roaring crowd acknowledging the historical significance of the moment.

What many – myself included! – considered to be once a passing fancy has grown dramatically in just three years!

To say that Ice Cube has stroke gold and the Big3 is changing the game sound like huge understatements at this point,

“I smile a lot more than my father does…”, O’Shea Jackson Jr. said once during an interview, but!

“I do not believe that is the case any longer, O’Shea…We are all super proud of your dad.”

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Bankers Life Fieldhouse was treated to an action-packed Sunday afternoon of professional basketball as fourteen players selected from the 2019 BIG3 Draft made their league debuts.

The Triplets (1-0), coached by former WNBA superstar Lisa Leslie in her inaugural season, found the magic they needed to beat the Aliens (0-1) 50 to 40.

The two brand new franchises duel until the final whistle blew, but Joe “ISO” Johnson (27 pts, 16 reb) proved too much to overcome and earned their first victory in team history.

Tri-State looked to be well on its way to victory after closing the first half with a 26-17 advantage.

The Killer 3’s, however, had other plans in mind. They scratched and clawed their way back, forcing the game to be decided beyond the 50-point mark.

The Killer 3’s remained cool under pressure and a jumper by C.J. Watson saw the black and yellow squad go up by one. A quick response from Tri-State, however reversed the lead back and once again put pressure on them.

Until, with the shot clock winding down, Donte Greene watched as his shot from beyond the arc hit the bottom of the net, earning the Killer 3’s an opening weekend victory in dramatic fashion.

Killer 3’s open season 1-0; Tri-State is 0-1.

Ghost Ballers and head coach George “The Iceman” Gervin pinned down the Ball Hogs 50 – 39, for their first win of the season.

The squad, which was without co-captain Carlos Boozer, was paced by the flashy play of Mike Taylor and high-percentage shooting from Jamario Moon (20 pts on 8-of-13 shooting).

The Ball Hogs, led by Will McDonald’s 17 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), kept things in close in the first half (23-26). Despite fighting throughout the game, and 10 points from both DeShawn Stephenson and Marcus Williams, they failed to claw their way back into contention.

The Ghost Ballers’ new-look offense outscored the Hogs 24-16 in the second half.

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In Week 2, BIG3 will make stops in Charlotte on Saturday (Spectrum Center, beginning at 12:00 p.m.)

• Enemies vs. Ball Hogs

• Trilogy vs Triplets

• 3’s Company vs Killer 3s

And Philadelphia on Sunday (Liacouras Center, beginning at 5:00 p.m.). The games will air live on CBS and CBS Sports Network, respectively.

• Ghost Ballers vs Bivouac

• 3 Headed Monsters vs Aliens

• Power vs Tri State

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                                                                     Images licensed by Getty Images and BIG3