It's a balmy evening, and we are chatting with team Warriors at the Podar basketball turf in Santa Cruz. The fighters — a yoga instructor, film producer and construction businessman — are dressed in shorts and tights and their weapon of choice is the basketball. Despite the unforgiving heat and humidity, they look happy to be out here, sweating, laughing and cheering each other on as they shoot the hoop.

"Basketball is a lot like life, you know," says Santino Morea, founder and COO of the Roots Basketball League. "It's all about making, unplanned, split second decisions — shoot or pass." Morea must be good at the sport, as he surely is good at life decisions. The basketball league has come close on the heels of the success of his first initiative, the now two-and-a-half-year-old Roots Football League, which also has Harpreet Baweja as CEO/founder. Much like the football league, the basketball league aims at not just promoting the sport, but also creating a community of adults — a place where they can meet, play, network and connect beyond their social circle.