DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Bragging rights and a trophy were up for grabs at the second annual “Battle of the Badges” as the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Fire Department of New York (FDNY) basketball teams laced up their sneakers for a friendly game of hoops and charity at the Barclays Center — home of the Brooklyn Nets — on Sunday, Jan. 26. 

Tickets to the game were $25, and all proceeds went to support the Timothy P. Klein Memorial Foundation, the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation and the NYPD Widow’s and Children’s Fund. 

The event opened with the presentation of the colors by the NYPD and FDNY color guards and the National Anthem. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who gave her team a pep talk in the locker room before the “battle,” and FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker had the honor of tipping off the game.

“I’m very excited to be in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center to cheer on the members of the FDNY, and I think we’re going to win this year. You heard it here,” Tucker told Brooklyn Eagle. “I think it’s going to be a close game like it was last year — except this year, we’re gonna be the winners.”