By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

For the past two years the Hugh Campbell Classic trophy went to Grand Bahama with the Sunland Baptist Academy Stingers but for the 40th edition of the tournament, the championship hardware stayed home thanks to the CI Gibson Rattlers.

In the third battle of New Providence versus Grand Bahama, the Rattlers prevailed 75-71 last night at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium to derail the Stingers’ chances of a three-peat in the prestigious tourney.

Rattlers vs Stingers

The Rattlers came ready to play against the Stingers. They put the defending champions on notice with an early 12-2 run to start the game. The GSSSA basketball title holders shot 53.8 per cent in the first quarter which included three makes from three.

Meanwhile, the GBSSAA basketball champions were held to 35.7 per cent shooting from the field and got outrebounded 13 to six.

The Rattlers capped off the first quarter of the contest ahead by five (18-13).

Head coach Kevin “KJ” Johnson was overjoyed to claim his sixth title for CI Gibson and be tied for the most tournament wins.

“It feels good, we dedicated this season to our fallen friend ‘Rambo.’ They worked extremely hard this week to prepare to get the championship and by the grace of God we won it and they deserved it because they worked hard,” Johnson said.

The Stingers tried to shake off a sluggish start and gained some ground to pull within four (24-20) with 4:55 on the clock in the second period.

However, the hot shooting from the field continued for the newly-crowned champions who kept their percentage at 50%. At this juncture of the game, the Rattlers were winning the battle in second-chance points 11 to five and bench points seven to three.

The Rattlers wasted no time in advancing by double digits 30-20 and proceeded to go into the break leading 36-24.

It was a game of runs for the top New Providence and Grand Bahama teams the entire way but, according to Coach Johnson, his team wanted it more.

“Sunland is a very good team, they shot the ball extremely well. They are tough, #10 and #5 are very good players. We knew we were a little better than them in terms of our personnel and we wanted it more and we felt like once we controlled the game in terms of rebounding the basketball and slowed down #10, we were able to get some good work done,” he said.

The game intensified in the third quarter for both teams as the championship hung in the balance.

The Stingers showed signs of life and with the Rattlers up 41-27, they reeled off an unanswered 7-0 run.

With under a minute on the clock, the defending champions came down the open court and threw down a massive dunk to draw within one (42-41).

Nonetheless, the Rattlers responded with a run of their own and concluded the third period in charge 51-47. Tashon Butler was firing on all cylinders from the opening tip through three quarters scoring 18 of his game-high 27 points.

He poured in nine points in the fourth quarter alone to not only bring home the victory for the CI Gibson Rattlers, but also secure his Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Down the stretch, the Stingers splashed back-to-back threes to cut into the lead 67-61. Despite a valiant effort to regain their footing in the game, the Stingers were unable to recover.

The Hugh Campbell Classic basketball championship was last won by a team from New Providence in 2019 so for coach Johnson the win felt extra good.

“It is about time it stayed in New Providence. Freeport has been taking it. We are happy we pushed it and we got it done,” he said.

Butler ended his Hugh Campbell journey with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Gerrard Rolle chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Edwin Ferguson amassed 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Sunland in the tough loss.

Congrats to the Ratters!