The blue team helped lead a local youth services organization to victory at the third annual Minority Students Alliance Charity Hoop-a-Thon, held yesterday at the Malkin Athletic Center.

About 30 students were divided among five teams, each of which represented a local charity.

The Minority Students Alliance (MSA) will donate $200 to the blue team's charity, Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

The bulk of the money was raised by a $5 player fee. MSA contributed $50 from their own funds to the $200 donation.

"The event went really well," said Albert H. Khine '97, outgoing co-chair for MSA. "The hoop-a-thon is a great way for people from diverse backgrounds to come together and have fun and also to work together for charity."

The tournament was arranged in a round-robin format. Blue and brown, the basketball teams with the best records in the preliminary rounds, played in the finals.

The players expressed their enthusiasm for the tournament and the opportunity to help local charities.

"This is only the third year, but it was one of our best," said Sheila N. Swaroop '96-'97, the other outgoing co-chair for MSA. "We were really happy with how many people turned out to play."

"This is my third year in the tournament and the first time my team won. It was kind of nice," said Ray E. Soccio '97, a blue team member. "It's a great opportunity to get students together for some organized basketball and of course the money goes to some good charities."

"It's definitely a good idea. I hope it keeps up," Soccio added.

The MSA is an umbrella organization representing the various ethnic and minority groups at Harvard.

"The primary focus of MSA is to provide a forum for different ethnic groups to discuss different issues and to build solidarity between different groups," said Jessy J. Fernandez '99, incoming MSA co-chair.

"We usually sponsor more cultural events, but this was a different way of fostering cross-cultural exchange," Swaroop said