By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
Will the Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s senior boys’ basketball champions be Tabernacle Baptist Falcons or will the New Providence champions Charles W Saunders or CI Gibson Rattlers have enough left in the tank to pull off the 39th edition title of the prestigious Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic?
The week-long tournament for senior boys is scheduled to get underway at 5pm today at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium where all of the games will be played instead of at the marquee AF Adderley Gymnasium.
The tournament, hosted by AF Adderley Junior High as their major fund raiser, returns after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fresh off their victory as the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association champions on Thursday over the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves, head coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson said they are as ready as could be. “We’re going to take a few days off and get back in the gym on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to get ready for Wednesday against whoever our opponents are,” said Johnson as they play their opener at 8pm.
“We set goals this year to definitely try to win it. We will take it one game at a time and one possession at a time and see what happens.”
Johnson guided the Rattlers to five titles, starting in 2002, then three straight from 2004-2006 and their last one in 2014.
The Cougars are still celebrating their first victory for Charles W Saunders as the champions for the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Sports over their Baptist rivals, Jordan Prince Williams Falcons two weeks ago. It will be interesting to see how both teams respond to the challenge.
In the meantime, one of the tournament’s defending champions Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins will have a new coach, who has to make a major adjustment after the loss of their top scorer Laterro Young, during the GSSSA sudden playoffs.
Coach Kevon Spence has replaced Denycko Bowles, who has moved to coach Anatol Rodgers this year as basketball returned after a two-year hiatus because of
the pandemic. Spence, however, watched as Young suffered a high left ankle injury early in the first quarter in their loss to the Timberwolves.
“The guys got back on the court already and we are doing our normal stuff that we do in preparation for all of our games, so we are looking good,” Spence said. “We are hoping for the best for him in terms of health, but in terms of our team, this will give the other guys the opportunity to step up and to fill that big gap. “We just want them to go out there and show that they can play basketball. Our goal is to win each game and to see how far it will take us. The sky is the limit for our team. We just have to refocus and go out there and play.”
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