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Honoring Damian Mele in Carbon County

Hundreds came out Saturday afternoon to celebrate the life of a former Lehighton Area High School basketball standout, Damian Mele.

LEHIGHTON, Pa. — "A life that touches many lives on forever;" that's the inspiration behind the Damian C. Mele Memorial Basketball Tournament.

Mele was 20 years old when he was killed in a car accident near Jim Thorpe back in 2019.

"Damian was a good soul, everyone loved him," said Gavin Zehner, friend of Damian Mele.

So it's only fitting he's remembered for what he loved most, the game of basketball.

Damian wore #21 for the Lehighton Indians, graduating in 2017. 

After his death, his mother, Lori, created the Damian C. Mele Memorial Tournament.

"He loved basketball. He played a lot of sports; he played baseball and track, but basketball was his favorite. This was the gym he played in," said Lori Mele, Damian's mother.

28 teams signed up to take part in the tournament held at Lehighton Area High School.

Damian's friends and former teammates say being there makes them remember the times they spent with him on and off the court.

"He was one of the younger guys on our team. He was the spark of the offense, getting up and down the court, shoot the three ball. Great player, great kid at practice, as a friend, he was a normal kid just hanging out all of the time playing pickup," said Tanner Zwetolitz, friend of Damian.

Damian's family and friends tell Newswatch 16 they feel his spirit in the gym.

"You can feel him here, like his energy and his presence, and he would have really been so honored that so many people remember him," said Lori.

"It means a lot just to come out have fun because we know we'd be doing the same with him be out here just getting buckets, so we just want to have fun and do our best," said Frank Bokan, friend of Damian.

"I live in Philly now, my friend group we are all scattered about, but we make the time to come back home for this event. We did it last year. It's a good time to come back and support a good cause," said Tanner.

Money raised from the tournament will benefit the Damian C. Mele Scholarship for Lehighton seniors.

Want to see what Newswatch 16's newscasts were like in 1983 and 1984? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube. 

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