Over forty individuals played several games of basketball in memory of the Diaz Brothers last week at the Hames Center. Elmer and Ulises Diaz often played at the community gym with friends. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
Today marks the one month anniversary of the August 18th landslide, which claimed the lives of three men in Sitka. Two of them were brothers. Elmer and Ulises Diaz were 26 and 25.
Graduates of Sitka High School, the Diaz brothers were dedicated athletes and fierce friends. Their love of basketball often brought them to the Hames Center on the Sheldon Jackson campus for pick-up games on Tuesdays. And last week (09-08-15), the gym opened its doors for friends to play in their honor. Emily Kwong watched from the sidelines and spoke with two of friends of the Diaz brothers, Jayson Asnin and Cameron Bowers.
Jaysin Asnin: My name is Jaysin Asnin.
Cameron Bowers: My name is Cameron Bowers. First of all, it was really cool that SJ (Sheldon Jackson) made it a free night for this week. It’s definitely in my mind, Elmer and Ulises, when I’m out there. One thing about those guys is they loved to compete and they wanted to win too, so they always competed hard. I wanted to be out there tonight in memory of them and play some basketball. I first met Elmer back in 2000-2001 when he was still a little younger in middle school and I was a freshman playing basketball.
JA: Uli’s a lefty. He’s really good. He played City League and we’re on the same team together. He’s probably the scorer on the team. He’s definitely kind of the coach and he definitely had a little sass and attitude but in a good way. He was definitely intense about it, but he made us play better together. He was definitely the captain of the team. And Elmer, he’s gotta look good and match. “If you look good, you play good,” was his thing. He was just a good defender and a hustle player.
CB: We were here. I think it was a Tuesday night. I can’t remember who exactly was guarding him, but whenever an offensive player makes a cool move and the defender falls down, you usually calls it “breaking ankles.” And Elmer did that to his defender. The defender fell down and Elmer stepped back and sunk the shot while he was on the ground. It was pretty entertaining and everyone was oohing and aahing.
JA: Uli was more sensitive, but in a good way. And Elmer was always about having fun and having a good time. If you think of Elmer, you’d see Elmer for a while and then all of a sudden Uli would be here. They always did everything together. And they’re both like that. It’s going to be really weird for a long time for all of us because they are a big glue in our group. We’re all talking. Everyone is still keeping in touch. We tell each other we love them because…I was with Uli on Monday before this all happened. We were all at the bar, just having a drink. And I saw him at the Pub and that was the last time I saw Uli. Everyone’s just telling each other, “We love you.” You gotta appreciate every day you have just because you never know.
CB: I definitely think they’re looking over us. I don’t know. It’s weird not having them here, but it’s a strong community. I think it’s going to take some time. We’ll miss them.
Those are the voices of Cameron Bowers and Jayson Asnin, two of over forty individuals who played a game of basketball in memory of the Diaz Brothers last week at the Hames Center.
Today marks the one month anniversary of the August 18th landslide, which claimed the lives of three men in Sitka. Two of them were brothers. Elmer and Ulises Diaz were 26 and 25.
