The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Sunland Baptist Lutheran Stingers junior and senior boys’ basketball team made their trip to Orlando, Florida, a memorable one at the Dynasty Hoops Basketball Classic over the weekend.

The Grand Bahama-based team made it to the finals of both divisions where they fell short of hoisting the championship titles. They did have some reason to celebrate, finishing up as the runners-up in the pools of 18 teams each.

In the junior boys’ division, the Stingers, coached by Marco Cooper, went into the final with an undefeated win-loss record, only to fall short 46-32 to Team Puerto Rico. Mario Carey, a ninth grader, led the Stingers in four games, including the championship.

The Stingers senior boys, coached by Jay Philippe, also advanced to the final after they posted a 2-1 record. But in the final, they lost to Nona Academy 51-40, despite getting 13 points from Jordan Saunders.

Coach Philippe, whose Stingers are coming off their latest victory at the Island Cares High School Basketball Challenge in Grand Bahama two weeks ago, said it was so gratifying for Sunland Lutheran Baptist to advance to the finals in both divisions.

“The guys fought well for the entire game,” Philippe said. “I’m so proud of these guys because these are some new faces to the programme and they were able to execute the game on the defensive and offensive end. The guys played with a lot of tenacity, which was good for us. But this is just a build up to what we are trying to achieve long term with this Stingers programme. We want to be known as winners. We want to be known as an elite basketball team in the country. I think we’re definitely making steps towards that.”

As for their junior boys, coach Cooper said not having a chance to play since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, they stepped up to the challenge, but just fell short when it counted the most in the final.

“Coming second overall is just icing on the cake and it proves that our guys are still in sync with basketball,” Cooper said.

“We had a chance to practice for a couple weeks, so to come out here and display our skills at such a high level was quite remarkable.

“Anytime you get an opportunity to represent the Bahamas, that’s a good thing.

“We’re looking forward to playing some more games before we head back to the Bahamas and once we get into Grand Bahama, we hope that there is a season to carry on. But its been a successful tournament and I’m happy for these guys.”

The Stingers will visit Polk State College and Weber International, the alma mater of coach Philippe, where they will participate in college visits and workouts.

Once they return home and they can participate in any high school league or tournament in Grand Bahama and New Providence, Philippe said they want to ensure that the Stingers will be able to hold their own like they did in winning the last Hugh Basketball Campbell Classic in February, 2019.