Boys hoopers enjoy the Pepsi Center

On Tuesday afternoon, Josh Lopez found himself and Mullen Mustangs tema\mates on the floor of the Pepsi Center.

Heading into his sophomore season, Lopez, a point guard and admitted gym rat, probably couldn’t have had a better time during his summer vacation.

“It’s really cool,” he said during one of the Mustangs’ intra-squad scrimmages on the court where the Nuggets play. “It’s a good experience to be on a professional basketball court with teammates and working out.”

In just a week, Mullen was able to get involved in a program that has been happening nationwide. Playbook Sports, a software company out of Hoboken, N.J., has been hosting various events for lower-level basketball programs. In Mullen’s case, the Mustangs brought all of their levels to the Pepsi Center for scrimmages that also included fans and parents in exchange for pitches from Playbook to have its software implemented.

“We’re looking to get the word out and we do events all over,” said Sal Grasso, a software specialist.

To date, Playbook has hosted in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn as well as in Miami, Orlando, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Detroit.

Playbook offers software to manage leagues and basketball, with its fast pace and array of statistics, is an optimum venue. It can manage individual teams or leagues on any level and the company has also dabbled in football and soccer, but “basketball is our bread and butter,” Grasso said.

It includes keeping track of the New York City basketball league as well as youth programs, and Grasso said “we do camps, teaching classes and an AAU program.”

And the benefits for the players are real. Mullen brought its feeder teams, next school year’s freshmen group and its junior varsity and varsity. Pickup games and summer gatherings in hoops are fun; getting to do them on a pro court is even better.

Grasso added that “we’ll definitely be back” and will look into possibly getting another set of scrimmages going, possibly against another team or setting up an actual prep games prior to an NBA meeting involving the Nuggets.

“This is a great thing for us to come out and play,” Mustangs senior-to-be and guard Diallo Thompson said. “It’s a memorable moment we won’t forget.”

Head coach Bob Caton concurred: “Absolutely, we want to stay in touch (with Playbook) and keep going. It’s something we can make into a great celebration time in the summer.”