Tristan Dillon (center) with Justin Dillon (left) and Steve Pierre Saint (right)
Bronx, NY – Steve Pierre Saint had to do something.
Anything.
He couldn’t sit still. Not anymore.
So, Pierre Saint made some calls. He cleared his schedule. He booked the gym and organized the first-ever “Ball4Tris” event last weekend at St. Raymond High School. It’s goal was to raise money for the medial bills of his former Ravens hoops teammate Tristan Dillon who had been diagnosed with colon cancer in May.
“Originally we wanted to bring everybody out, the alumni at St. Raymond’s and the original motive was like a reunion,” said Pierre Saint, who graduated from St. Ray’s in 2010. “Then we found out our brother was diagnosed with cancer, so this was an extra push for us and extra motivation to keep things pushing further.”
The event, held over two afternoons on July 25 and 26 brought together nearly 80 of the school’s basketball alumni and friends of Dillon. The event raised more than $1,300. Further help can be given through a GoFundMe account called Tristan’s Fight Against Cancer that is at close to $5,000.
There were trophies to be won and some glory to be claimed, but in the end, it was all about Dillon.
For his part, Dillon was more than a little overwhelmed by the entire weekend. The 22-year-old Bronx native called the four years he spent at St. Raymond the greatest of his life, adding that he was surprised by the turnout the event drew.
“I was very shocked, I didn’t think I deserved such a big honor like this,” Dillon said. “I didn’t think it was going to be this big. But I definitely thank God for the turnout.”