The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Caribbean Cruise Line gave the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins basketball team a free tour of the Majesty of the Seas yesterday along with lunch and a fun-filled day on board the ship.

This was a reward for winning the 2019 Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic and the 2019 Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) basketball category.

Shonel Ferguson, Fox Hill MP, who represents the constituency where the school is located, also attended the ship tour.

Ms Ferguson said the team worked hard, having won five championships this year.

“I spoke to Diane Phillips and she’s a representative here in the Bahamas for Royal Caribbean and of course they said yes without any hesitation,” she said, explaining how the event came to fruition. “(We) are so grateful to Royal Caribbean.”

Denykco Bowles, Marlins coach, said the team put in a lot of hours of hard work and deserved a treat.

Mr Bowels said: “We are out here enjoying this beautiful atmosphere thanks to Ms Shonel Ferguson, the MP for Fox Hill, who saw it fit to treat our guys after such a marvellous year in basketball. We have been working hard from August, the guys have put in countless hours and this something that is rewarding to all their hard work they have put in this year. I want to continue to motivate them to let them know that hard work does pay off.”

Malachi McCoy, head captain and senior, was excited about the experience.

He said: “It feels good to come out here and relax and just sit back and have a good time especially when I’m doing something I love. Like that Bible scripture said, your gift will make room for you, so I just go by that.”

Clinton Brennen, a junior at Doris Johnson, said he was excited because this was his first time being on board a cruise ship.

He said: “It feels good to be here, I didn’t know we were going to be here and I just found out today so it’s a good surprise to have this experience. It was a lot of hard work; we would come in 6am before school just working everyday just to prepare for the season.

“(We practiced) every day after school and it was a lot of hard work. We are lucky to have a lot of championships out of that and we lucky to succeed as much as we did this season. There is a good amount of pressure, but I think we will be able to live up to it if we keep working hard. We just have to rise above the pressure and just do what we have to do.”