A full-court congregation for all

COSTA MESA — Basketballs echoed off the pavement on Shalimar Drive Saturday morning, as hoops filled a street that rarely experiences much outside traffic. A recreation van parked nearby with children lining up to have their hands painted. In front of the park, a bicycle, shoes and My Little Pony toys covered a raffle table.

It was a day of festivity on Shalimar Drive, once one of Costa Mesa’s most dangerous streets, but it had a more serious purpose underneath. Three years ago, the Costa Mesa Police Department and the Mika Community Development Corporation founded the annual C3 Basketball Tournament to raise money and enforce a positive relationship between the police and the community.

“Every year it’s getting a little bigger,” said Officer Ryan Walker, who spearheaded the tournament. “Even though everybody donates a little bit, nobody’s really in charge. It brings together the whole community.”

The event Saturday pitted 12 teams against each other in a double-elimination contest, with police, volunteers from local churches and Shalimar residents playing alongside each other. (The name C3 stands for cops, church and community.) While adults and teenagers faced off in the competition, students from Vanguard University held a clinic down the street to teach younger children basketball moves.

The winning team consisted of David Sevilla from the police department, Shalimar resident Carlos Arceo and Christian Parra, the youth pastor for the Harbor Christian Fellowship. The three players won gift certificates to Sports Chalet, but as Mika Executive Director Crissy Brooks noted, the tournament was more about community spirit than winning.

“One guy had a little run-in with the police last week,” she said. “I asked him, ‘Are you going to play in the tournament?’ And he said, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s important.’”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.