By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE CI Gibson Rattlers came close to bringing home one of the divisional championship titles at the Tarkanian Basketball Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada. But they had to settle for unwrapping the runners-up hardware over the Christmas holiday weekend.

The team, coached by Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson, assisted by Wilton Johnson and Shannon Williams, finished with a 3-1 win-loss record in the games they played at the Faith Lutheran High School, one of the six venues where the tournament was played last week.

In their first game played, the Rattlers won 70-57 over Chino out of California. They came back and beat North Medford out of Oregon in game two. They also won 65-58 over TMI Episcopal out of Texas in their semifinal match.

But in their finale, they lost 58-49 to Monsignor Scanlan out of New York in the championship.

“The trip was great. Thank God I had the opportunity to take these young men to Las Vegas to play in the Tarkanian Basketball Classic,” Johnson said. “It was a huge opportunity for our young men to be showcased in front of a lot of coaches. They played extremely well.

“We played in the Team Athletic Division, which had 16 teams in our pool. We went to the championship game and got beat by nine points. We played some very good teams in the tournament.”

Chino Hills, according to Johnson, was the alma mater for the Ball brothers, who currently play in the National Basketball Association. Against North Medford, Johnson said they encountered a strong shooting team.

The team from Texas was coached by former NBA player Bruce Bowen, whose son, along with the son of Tim Duncan, also played on the team.

“They had two 6-10, 6-9 and 6-8 players on that team,” Johnson said. “We played extremely hard and very fast. We felt we were more athletic than them, so we played extremely fast and organised and controlled and that helped us to win to get into the Team Athletics divisional final.

“But in the final, we ran into a very strong team from New York. We got beat because we didn’t make our free shots. We missed 21 free shots and got beat by nine. We also missed about 13 lay-ups. So at the end of the day, if we had capitalised on their missed free shots and layups, we would have had an opportunity to win.”

They didn’t, but Johnson said he was happy and thankful that his Rattlers played at a high level.

“A lot of the coaches gave our team high praises because of how hard we played and we never gave up,” Johnson stated. “That was the trademark for our team this year in this tournament. We played extremely hard for four quarters and we never gave up.”

Gerrad Rolle and Tashon Butler were both named to the All-Tournament team as a result of their performances.

The other members of the team were Charles Maynard, D’Neo Smith, Mario Rolle, Darius Hanna, Dwayne Findley, Sergio Bain, Condae Smith, Joshua Fynes, Osee Olibrice and Zavion Lloyd.

“The young men bought into what we are doing. They understand the importance of the off-season training,” Johnson pointed out.

“They prepared themselves for this moment and worked extremely hard to be a part of this moment.

“I must say, they cherished the time they came and played together. They understood the importance of being ready when the time came for them to play.”

Right before his eyes, Johnson said he watched as his players grew up and held their own against some of the top ranked high school players out of the United States.

The Rattlers will now prepare to defend their title in the 24th Providence Basketball Club Yuletide Classic at the CI Gibson Gymnasium. The tournament, which will feature both a junior and senior boys’ division, will get underway today at 9am and wrap up on Saturday. There will be two sessions held each day. The entry fee for the fans is $3 each.