Grandstanding has always been part of the streetball culture. But it reached new heights Sunday during the final of the Dolphin Park Classic.

And the sun-drenched crowd, at least five deep surrounding the court at Thompson Park, loved it.

The good-natured banter between Home team coach Ed Haskins and X-Falcon Casey Archibald began when the latter, the top player in Canadian university basketball in 2007 as a member of the University of B.C. Thunderbirds, started sinking a series of three pointers. That helped stake the X-Falcons to an early lead on Home, which they maintained until midway through the second half until Home pulled away in the end for a 104-94 victory in the 24th edition of the annual Richmond playground hoops tournament.

Uncharacteristically, each time he added to his total (eventually 10 treys and 44 points), Archibald would look over at Haskins and chirp something like, “You can’t stop me.”

Haskins played along, and played it up. When one of his players, namely Alvin Snow, started matching Archibald shot for shot (finishing the game with eight threes and 37 points) Haskins was even more expressive. After one of Snow’s baskets he yelled back at Archibald, “That’s what six figures looks like” referring to Snow’s annual earnings as a star player in Slovania.

The sun-drenched fans, at least five deep surrounding the court at Thompson Park, loved it. So did the participants.

“It’s part of the tournament,” Haskins said, reflecting for a moment on earlier days when he and associate coach Brent Merritt played for the Seattle-based Home team. “In the old days the beer garden would get on us like nobody’s business.”

Roselle Ellis, the tournament MVP, said the banter is the greatest part of Dolphin Park.

“It gets the crowd into the game and paying attention. And to see two great shooters go at it like that, what else can you ask for?”

But while such banter is embraced and even encouraged in streetball, it’s still basketball, said Haskins. Winning is still the bottom line.

Sunday’s victory by the Home team was bittersweet though because it will be their last. Haskins, who during the traditional basketball season coaches the Garfield high school boys’ basketball team, said other commitments will prevent him from continuing to organize the squad.

Haskins said going out on top is satisfying because this was the most competitive of any Dolphin Park tournament Home has participated in.

“Athelite (which Home trailed most of the game before pulling out an 88-82 win in the last minute of the semifinal) and X-Falcons are both good teams,” he said. “We started off slow in both games and as a coach you never like to see that. I would have preferred we played the full 44 minutes but our guys are so athletic and skilled with quick hands that it was tough for a team to stay up on us.”

Ellis, who had 25 points in the win over the talent-laden Athelite (featuring the University of Calgary brother duo of Henry and Ross Bekkering), was a model of consistency throughout the tournament.

“I like to go get the boards and do the little things that people don’t like to do, while trying to be in the right place at the right time,” said Ellis. “I pride myself in being a good team player. That’s what makes the game fun.”

Ellis said despite trailing both the semifinal and championship games, he and Home teammates never felt the need to panic. But he said they needed to pressure the ball more because their opponents were allowed to move up and down the court too easily.

“Once they started to make a few mistakes with turnovers we started getting the boards and it paid off for us,” said Ellis, who has been selected as the Dolphin Park Classic’s most valuable player twice previously.

An import player during the season for the Alaska Aces in the Philippine Basketball Association, where he has averaged 24 points and 14 rebounds each of the last four seasons, Ellis was the 1993 Washington state player of the year for Ranier Beach High School and had a tryout with the NBA Detroit Pistons in 2001.

•Kevin Kemp, a member of the Home team who didn’t play much, was the unanimous winner of the slam dunk contest. Known as the Elevator and Golden Child, the gregarious 21-year-old Tacoma native had a teammate stand facing the basket while holding the ball above his head. While jumping over him, Kemp grabbed the ball with his right hand, put it under his right leg, did a windmill and dunked it.

Spontaneous combustion might best describe the reaction of the crowd, which broke out in boisterous applause while replaying the dunk on their phones. The dunk has quickly become a favourite on youTube.

After Kemp’s mind-blowing dunk, Henry Bekkering, who had a few moments earlier completed a spectacular dunk of his own, conceded.

“When the dude started talking like it’s over, I had to go in and shut it down,” said Kemp. “And it was good money.” (The winner received $500).

Kemp, who performs around the world with the talented touring dunk team Flight Brothers, said he’s performed the dunk before.

•Seattle-based Home team won the 24th annual Dolphin Park Classic Sunday with a 104-94 victory over defending champion X-Falcons at Thompson Park.

•Roselle Ellis of the winning Home team was the tournament MVP.

•The First all-star team consisted of Josh Whyte of Athelite, Alvin Snow of Home, Navi Sekhon of X-Falcons and Randy Nohr of X-Falcons.

•The Second all-star team consisted of Novell Thomas of MGD, James Hudson of AIA, Joey Haywood of the Runnin’ Rebels and Henry Bekkering of Athelite.