By Mary McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 1/15/04)

The gymnasium of Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax echoed with chants of "I. V. E.," "Wash-ing-ton," and "Ar-ling-ton" as three teams competed for the title of champion in the first annual Mid-Atlantic Seminarian Basketball tournament.

Arlington faced off against the Archdiocese of Washington in the first round after Washington fell to the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) formation house in Cheverly, Md., 27 to 30. Arlington sent Washington home, winning 29 to 23 in the second game of the day. Following their second loss, Father Rob Panke, vocations promoter for the archdiocese, said, "The last shall be first."

Seminarian Chris Vaccaro, coach for the Arlington team, said, "The other team played very hard, but I’m very proud our guys pulled out the win."

The Archdiocese of Baltimore was scheduled to compete, but they backed out in the days leading up to the tournament.

Arlington held the lead in the final game through the beginning of the fourth quarter when they were ahead by six points. However, IVE made a comeback late in the game to capture the tournament trophy, winning 25 to 21.

"We didn’t have anything like this when we were in seminary," Father Brian Bashista, diocesan director of Vocations, said to Father Terry Specht, Paul VI chaplain, during the lunch break.

The Arlington team was formed two weeks before the tournament at the seminarians’ Christmas retreat. Eight of the diocese’s 22 seminarians joined the team.

Arlington player Jae Yang had his own cheering section. Ten parishioners from St. Paul Chung Parish in Fairfax came out to support their seminarian.

Father Bashista organized the tournament after the success of the Potomac Challenge softball game between seminarians in the Arlington Diocese and the Archdiocese of Washington. "This is much more intense than I expected," said Father Bashista, who was encouraged by the number of young men who attended the game. Between the three teams and their supporting seminarians, about 75 men in formation gathered for the friendly competition.

A seminarian from Arlington commented that many men from the competing teams will be friends, just the same as men from their own diocese. With a diocese covering as much area as Arlington does, priests in the Archdiocese of Washington will sometimes be easier to keep in touch with than priests in the Arlington Diocese. With men from Arlington and Washington sometimes attending the same seminaries, some bonds were already formed before the game. A few Arlington seminarians also shared an apostolate with men from IVE at the Gift of Peace home in Washington.

Win or lose, the teams agreed that the day was more about comradeship than a trophy. "They’re all pursuing a similar call, but it’s lived out in different ways," said Father Bashista. "This encourages them in their own vocation to see that the Church is alive and healthy."