Basketball players and teams from around New Mexico came together to raise scholarship money, and memorialize former Española Valley basketball player Cameron Martinez.
Kayla Martinez, Cameron’s longtime girlfriend, has taken on the role as the main organizer for the scholarship. The tournament expanded this year from 12 teams to 15 teams. Teams came to the tournament from Española, Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las Vegas.
“Getting not only just our community together, to play basketball, but also our whole state coming together for this cause,” Kayla said. “It means a whole lot.”
The Cameron Martinez Memorial hosted the third Battle in the Valley (the first was in 2019, and the second in 2022) with 15 teams on Aug. 5-6 at Española Valley High School and Northern New Mexico College. The tournaments raises money for a memorial scholarship in Martinez’s name, which supports five Española Valley seniors each year. In total, the scholarship has given $28,000 to Española students.
“I think he would have really enjoyed this basketball (tournament) in honor of him and his name,” Kayla Martinez said. “It’s nice just to bring in different people from our community to be joining into this tournament.”
Cameron Martinez was a basketball player for Española from Alcalde. He was shot and killed in 2018, months after graduating from the school, in what is widely believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
“He was just always playing basketball,” said Jordan Duda, a member of the tournament’s winning team and a 2021 Española graduate who grew up near Cameron in Alcalde. “He was one of the hardest defensive players from Española. He just had a good heart, and he always wanted to look out for everybody.”
A commemorative poster hangs over Del Valdez Court at Española Valley with Martinez’s face and his signature quote — “If you have a dream do me a favor, never stop chasing it.” There is also a memorial bench, Cameron’s jersey and a collage poster near the entrance to the gymnasium.
The scholarship recipients in 2023 were Aracely Orozco-Rodriguez, Samantha Borrego, Dominic Sandoval, Jaydn Martinez, Gabriel Salazar and Patrick Martinez.
As of Monday, the organizers were still working to tally the final total from the fundraiser.
The Española cheer team, along with a youth cheer team, gave performances at halftime of the later games.
The “Hang it Up” team won first place in the tournament, which had games of two 18-minute running-clock halves. Their team included former Northern forward Tyrique Weaver, Española graduate Ollie Fell who will play at Bakersfield, and Duda — who now plays with Northern.
“I felt like he was with us out here,” Duda said. “Just doing it for him.”
Hang it Up won the final 80-55 over Terror Squad. The championship game was close through the first half, but Hang it Up pulled away in the second half with a big run.
Terror Squad made it to the finals after losing their second game, then won five straight in the loser’s bracket. Along the way, they knocked out both Pojoaque Valley and Española Valley back-to-back.
Both local high schools participated in the tournament as part of their summers, facing teams of older and bigger players. Cameron’s mother, Valerie, personally sponsored the Española Valley team to play.
“I asked the kids, and yeah, they were interested,” said Española coach Joey Trujillo. “So, here we are.”
The Sundevils lost their first game 54-49 to NMOP, then pulled away late in a contested game to defeat Cool Arrowz. At the end of the first day, against Terror Squad, they were down 38-9 at the half, but they battled all the way back to within five, losing 68-63.
“We’re here playing for that guy in the middle of our gym,” said rising senior Jayden Duran, whose hot shooting helped bring the Sundevils back into the game. “He lost out on a whole life ahead of him. And we’re just here playing for him. Means a lot.” Duran said that his older sister, Kianna, was friends with Cameron Martinez.
New Pojoaque coach Ryan Cordova had previously volunteered for the tournament when he was the coach at Northern, and last year had registered an AAU team with his high-school son. This year, he registered the Elks.
Pojoaque lost their first game to YB Elite, then beat NM Gremlins in the loser’s bracket. Against Terror Squad, they fell behind big early, but hot shooting brought them to within three points at halftime, before ultimately losing 74-60.
“Just get a taste of ‘what the big boys play like,’” Pojoaque’s Dalian Lopez said of playing adult teams. “Hopefully harden us up, toughen us up before we start heading into the school year. Getting us ready for the more physical, bigger teams that we’re going to potentially face this winter.”
Kayla Martinez and her team are already working on planning for their next event. The fourth all-terrain vehicle ride in Cameron’s memory will take place in October.
“We’re keeping his legacy alive,” Kayla Martinez said. “I hope we’ll keep continue doing this for years to come.”