By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE CI Gibson Rattlers clinched another senior boys’ title in their own Providence Basketball Club’s 24th Yuletide Basketball Classic on Saturday on their home floor at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

But coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson said although they won 69-66 over the visiting St George’s Jaguars from Grand Bahama, it was no easy walk through their familiar territory.

“It feels good. We played against a very good shooting St George’s team. We are not at full strength. It’s no excuse. We went out and allowed them to get back into the game,” Johnson said. “Defensively we had a lot of lapses and Deryl Williams and Kevaro Russell shot the ball very well for St George’s. But our boys shot the ball pretty well too. Down the stretch, we closed it out and pulled it off.”

Calvin McIntosh, the assistant to head coach Darrel Sears, admitted that fatigue may have played a factor for them, having to play three games in a few hours.

“It was a lot for the guys to take, but we grit it out,” he stated. “One of our big men got injured, so he was not that effective today, but we gritted it out.

“We have some players back home who couldn’t make it. but we got what we wanted by coming here for this tournament. We wanted to get better. We wanted to teach them how to win games. I think we got that.”

As they now look at returning here in February for the prestigious Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic, McIntosh said they hope to be at full strength with the three key players they left at home on their roster. “This team grew up. That’s all we could ask,” he stated. “So look out for us in February.”

Rattlers 69, Jaguars 66: Tashon Butler, who was named the Most Valuable Player, scored a side high 16 points with a solid performance in each quarter to lead CI Gibson to victory.

Dwayne Finley had 14, Gerrad Rolle had 13, Prince Whitley had four and both Darius Hanna and Stevachko Jacques added three, while Zavian Lloyd finished with two.

Kevaro Russell, held to just two points in the first quarter and scoreless in the second, fuelled St George’s comeback in the second half. He knocked down a pair of three-pointers and added two field goals for 10 in the third and had another pair of threes in the fourth in his eight points to finish with a game high 22 points.

Deryl Williams, who canned the game’s final basket on a three-pointer at the buzzer, had 15. Bedner Termius had seven and Romero Adderley chipped in with four. The Rattlers led 27-18 at the end of the first quarter as Butler connected on three free throws and a field goal for five and Rolle and Finley had four each and Hanna canned a three-pointer.

They extended their lead to 38-27 at the half with Butler duplicating his feat from the first quarter.

Ignited by Russell’s pair of three-pointers and field goals for 10 in the third, St George’s got back into the game, trailing 52-39.

But they couldn’t stop Butler, who added 10 more points to his ledger, including two three-pointers and as many field goals.

In the fourth, Russell and Williams both knocked down a pair of three-pointers to keep the Jaguars in the game. However, their efforts came a little too late.

St George’s only had one game to recuperate after they held off the Charles W Saunders Cougars 47-39 in their semifinal match-up, while CI Gibson played ahead of them, securing a 53-44 win over the CC Sweeting Cobras.

The tournament closed out with the awards ceremony and carting off trophies as they were selected to the All-Tournament Team were the following players:

Blazers Elite - N Gedeus. St George’s - Deryl Williams and Kevaro Russell. CI Gibson - Tashon Butler and Gerard Rolle.

CC Sweeting - Andrew Bethel and Tavari Roker. Charles W Saunders - Raymone Woods and Nakero Brown. Queen’s College - Tashon Taylor.

As the founder and organiser of the Providence Basketball Club, coach Johnson said he was quite concerned at the start on Wednesday after some of the teams dropped out.

“But as we progressed, things got better and that is what the tournament is all about. The tournament is being used to keep the players active during the Christmas season, but it also allows the teams to work on a few things as they head into the second half of their season.

“St George’s, I’m quite sure they got better. CC Sweeting, I’m sure got better.

“They played well here. Charles W Saunders, Queen’s College, Teleos and St John’s, I saw how they all got better.”

Johnson also gave high marks to the Agape Eagles, coached by Stephan Johnson, who took the junior boys’ title home to Abaco after they upset the Jordan Prince Williams Falcons 53-39 in their championship game.

“Coach Johnson did an excellent job,” Johnson said. “He’s always been doing an excellent job down there. It’s just that a lot of Grand Bahama and New Providence teams take his players.

“But he put in the hard work to prepare his teams and he’s going to continue to work hard. I’m glad to see that they finally won their first title here. If he can keep that team together, they will be hard to beat down the stretch.”

This was the second year that the junior division was added to the tournament, which was primarily designed for senior boys. There is a possibility that the senior girls’ division could be included in the future.