The Horace Greeley I.S. 10Q basketball team. Photo courtesy of Nicholas Singh.
March 21, 2025 By Ethan Marshall
Kids from 12 schools across New York City School District 30 competed in the second annual March Madness Middle School Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 8, at Horace Greeley I.S. 10Q, with the host team winning the tournament.
The Horace Greeley School, located at 45-11 31st Ave. in Astoria, won all three of their games with 13 of the team’s 15 players available en route to winning the championship. It was a strong finish following a regular season in which they went 9-1 against teams in School District 30, which covers the western Queens neighborhoods of Astoria, Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside.
For I.S. 10Q Vice Principal Nicholas Singh, it meant a lot for the school to not only host the tournament but also win it. He also noted that it was the first time in the school’s history that it had won a basketball championship.
“I’m really proud of these kids,” Singh said. “As a coach, you want to squeeze everything you can out of these kids and teach them something. I really like our coach [Elias Toras].”
As March Madness begins for College Basketball, Singh said he viewed some similarities between how well the I.S. 10Q team and St. John’s University performed this year. He also pointed out that the middle school holds its graduation ceremonies at Carnesecca Arena, where the Johnnies play basketball. He is hopeful that St. John’s can win their tournament as well.
“There were a lot of kids [on the I.S. 10Q team] who never played organized basketball before [this season],” Coach Toras said. “There was getting them used to how to play with a referee and how to play organized defense because a lot of these kids are used to playing in the park, not playing intensely. It’s a lot different playing outside than it is playing on an organized team, with plays being run. It was a learning experience for a lot of them, and a lot of them did improve throughout the season. It was their skills and how they saw the court. Their basketball IQ went up a bit.
“There were other kids who were very shy and timid who came out of their shell this year. They were the loudest ones at the end of the season. I think that’s the most rewarding part, seeing these kids grow in the social aspect as well, coming together and bonding.”
The games in the tournament consisted of two 20-minute halves. Teams that won typically had about 30-45 minutes to rest and recharge before their next game. Coach Toras was mindful of rotating minutes among the 13 players he had on hand for the tournament, making sure nobody was wearing themselves out. While there was not any time to rest following the team’s semifinal victory in overtime, the coach of the team they faced in the finals granted them a brief reprieve. Toras was thankful to the coach for allowing them to rest for a few minutes.
“The kids had a good time. They were very into [the tournament],” Coach Toras said. “I think they had a little more energy than during the week when we played our games. It was very exciting. Everyone was rooting for each other.”
