In a tight 84 - 77 victory the Northeastern division wins the overall 9th Annual Sprite Basketball Tournament Championship game to the Western Division for the second consecutive year. For the ninth year Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producer of Coca-Cola products, collaborated with the Royal Bahamas Police Force to bring together the nine districts of New Providence in the annual Sprite Basketball Tournament. For the past four weeks, young men from across the island worked together in teams to win the coveted title of “Sprite Basketball Champions”, while learning new skills, practicing discipline and sportsmanship in a friendly, safe environment.

“Over the past nine years the Sprite Basketball Tournament has become a highlight of our Summer program. This program not only allows us, as the police body, to pass on valuable team building and professional skills to young men, but it also helps us to foster relationships with these young men, which is invaluable” says ASP Johnson, of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. “Without CBC’s continued support in organizing and financing this entire program, none of this would have been possible.”

“The Sprite Basketball tournament was created by CBC as a way to offer support to the neighborhoods across New Providence that we serve,” Cara Douglas, CBC Marketing Manager explains. “Each of the individual districts were looking for corporate support for summer events in their areas, and we saw a great opportunity to bring the districts together around a positive event, basketball. CBC rightly believed this would foster a deeper relationship between the young men, their communities, and the police that serve their community. This tournament is a safe and supportive environment for young men to participate in each summer, and we are so proud to continue to support it with the Royal Bahamas Police Force.”

The Northeastern Division came out the victors of this year’s tournament with an 84 – 77 win over the Southern Division team. Jevaughn Ferguson, of the Northeaster Division basketball team, was name the winner of the Sprite Sportsmanship Award, and Dario Saunders is the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Each player in the Tournament received a Sprite gift bag for their participation, while the winning teams walked away with medals, a case of Sprite soda, and a G-Shock watch or Sports Center Gift Card, for the first and second placed teams respectfully. All members of the winning team also got a passes to participate in the 2017 Buddy Heild Basketball Workshop on July 28th and 29th.