IT’S Christmas time and the CI Gibson Rattlers are off on their usual trip to the United States to get some international exposure as they compete in another tournament in Las Vegas.

The Rattlers, coached by Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson, left town on Sunday and will begin competition in the Tarkanian Holiday Classic that starts today. Team members travelling are Gerrad Rolle, Charles Maynard, D’Neo Smith, Tashon Butler, Mario Rolle, Darius Hanna, Dwayne Findley, Sergio Bain, Candae Smith, Joshua Fynes, Osee Oibrice, Zavian Lloyd and Stevachko Jacques.

“The young men are always excited to go and compete,” Johnson said. “We always get the opportunity to be seen by the college coaches and that is one of the reasons why we go.

“We have a very good team this year, so hopefully we can go and play the right way and give ourselves a chance to win.”

In their first game, the Rattlers will face Chino out of California at the Faith Lutheran High School. The outcome of their game will determine whether they play out of the winners towards the championship or the loser bracket in the consolation round.

“Last year we lost by one point, to go to the divisional championship, to a very good team in the Diplomat Prep,” Johnson recalled. “Hopefully, we come back this year and compete again and give ourselves a chance to get to the championship.”

The Rattlers are expected to be the only team from the Bahamas participating, so Johnson said it’s important that they put on a good show to represent the country.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” he pointed out. “The guys are looking forward to it. They understand the importance of the moment. We are playing in the Athletic Division and so we are looking forward to it.”

The Rattlers are expected back home on December 23, just in time for Christmas, hopefully with some hardware.

Once they eat some ham and turkey and unwrap their gifts, the Rattlers will be back at it competing in the 22nd Providence Basketball Classic, scheduled for December 27-30 at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

The tournament is designed for both junior and senior high school boys’ teams as well as senior high girls’ teams.

Teams from New Providence and Grand Bahama will be participating. Johnson said they have also invited some of the Family Islands to compete.

According to Johnson, the tournament is being held to provide an opportunity for players to be viewed by visiting college scouts, get the teams ready for the second half of their regular season basketball competition in January.

In addition, to expose the players to a higher level of competition and to provide an activity for the fans to enjoy during the Christmas season.