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St. Thomas Sweeps Sun Stroke All Star Hoop Classic

St. Thomas and St. Croix’s top high school ballers went head to head Saturday, showcasing their talents at the 16th annual Sun Stroke All Star Hoop Classic at St. Croix Educational Complex. When the dust settled and the last buzzer had sounded, the St. Thomas boys and girls teams both were victorious.

Every year, boys and girls all star teams of each district’s best high school basketball players compete in the classic to showcase their talents for recruiters and for the community.

Before the high school players took the court, local medial personalities, politicians and candidates faced off in a celebrity match. Sun Stroke Promotions President Rashidi Clenance called the game from the court as Team Sun Stroke, in white, took on Team Duncan, in green, in a light hearted game featuring hijinks like Senate candidate Ignacio Llanos III, who works for Choice Communications, a sponsor of the classic, and played the whole game as "Choice Man," wearing a green mask and cape made of green Choice Communications bandanas sewn together.

Near the end of the celebrity match, Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson arrived and Clenance promptly drafted him to play, putting him on Team Duncan because he already had on a green shirt.

As the Girls All Stars took the court, Clenance said a Benedict College scout, James Rice, was in the audience.

Both teams started out strong and seemingly evenly matched, with aggressive offenses matched by effective defenses, for an 8-8 tie at the end of the first quarter. As the game went on, St. Thomas’ driving offense began to wear St. Croix down and St. Thomas started to move ahead in the second quarter. At the end of the half, St. Thomas had 38 to St. Croix’s 22, and never looked back.

St. Croix upped the adrenaline in the second half, but it wasn’t enough, and the final score was St. Thomas 77, St. Croix 39.

Kids in the audience competed for prizes during the half time and between games. Shan Milligan, 10, volunteered to be blindfolded and look for a hidden cell phone, courtesy of Choice Communications. Kids sprinted to grab $5 bills in another competition.

Between games, Clenance introduced three wounded U.S. Army veterans who flew to St. Croix as honorary guests for the game. San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan sponsored the travel for St. Croix military veterans Sgt. Ian Parkinson, Sgt. Ricardo Perez Ramos and Col. Ben Mitchell.

Mitchell, a St. Croix native, met Parkinson and Ramos in physical rehabilitation about six months ago, when all three were recovering from leg operations and amputations.

"It was Mitchell’s idea," said Parkinson. “He said we should come to St. Croix. We were talking about it in rehabilitation. It’s been great. Everyone has been so nice; it’s unbelievable."

Parkinson lost both his legs to an improvised explosive device but is able to walk thanks to the latest generation of prosthetics. He said he used also a wheelchair, and can get around fine that way too, but that one advantage of the prosthetic legs is they raise his standing height to that of other people’s. “People are more comfortable and automatically treat you more normally when you are face to face, at the same level, while when you are in a wheel chair, they tend to be more awkward,” he said.

The Boys All Stars fought neck and neck for three full quarters and, in the third quarter, St. Croix was ahead 38-37 when the tide began to ebb. St. Thomas started to break away, building up a 55-44 lead. Then in the last five minutes, St. Croix pushed back, narrowing the gap to 51-54 with three minutes to go, then 56-59 with two minutes to go.

St. Croix pushed hard in the last two minutes but last-minute fouls and free throws decided the game. First St. Croix fouled St. Thomas and St. Thomas made one of two free throws. Then St. Thomas fouled St. Croix, and St. Croix missed both.

St. Thomas fouled St. Croix again, and St. Croix’s T’Coy Felix made one and missed one. With the score St. Croix 57 – St. Thomas 59, and only 4.1 seconds to go, St. Thomas ran out the clock to squeak out a win.

With Saturday’s loss, St. Croix boys now have a 9-7 all-time series lead on St. Thomas, while the St. Thomas girls’ victory brings them to 9-7 over St. Croix.

The classic was started in 1999 and, in 2005, Duncan and the Adidas shoe company became sponsors of the annual event that is used to showcase the V.I. talent and provide increased competition and collegiate visibility.

The Buccaneer Hotel, Budget Rent A Car, Malone for Congress and Choice Wireless all helped sponsor this year’s Sun Stroke Classic.

This year’s St. Thomas Boys All Stars comprised coach Derrik Heyliger and team members Stephaun Adams, Malacoy Francis, Kerrol Laurant, Ciquaan James, Akiyo Nielle, K’yu Matthews, Jevon Philpott, Kairy Huyghs, T’Quan Registe and Jamari Benjamin.

The St. Croix Boys All Stars included coach Donald Bough and team members Leonardo Castillo, Shaquoy Ferrol, Evelson Nestor, Dashaun Malone, Samuel Joseph, Robert Sanes, T’Coy Felix, Tyrique Guadaloupe and Rakeem Richardson.

The St. Croix Girls All Stars comprised coach Donald Bough and team members Aliyah Bryan, Raemisha Claxton, Misah Edwards, J’liene Martinez, Rashanika Williams, Jendayi Williams, Pena Prentice, Zianna Angol, Anisha George and Kahlia De Castro.

The winning St. Thomas Girls All Stars included coach Myron Corbett and team members Sherell George, Shirvel Lake, Eshaé Aska, Akia Frett, Lily Gabriel, Renai Evans, KeAnna Mills, Renique Francis, Sharena Armstrong and Delma Baron.

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