What is expected to be a final meeting between members of the New Providence Association of High School Principals (NPAHSP) and the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) is set for 11 a.m. today, to hopefully finally put an issue to bed, that has plagued the government school sector for almost two weeks.
Up until press time late last night, the two bodies still hadn't come to terms regarding the penalties for players and teams that were a part of the game-breaking brawl last Monday. Arguably, the two best high school teams in the country, the GSSSA Champions C.I. Gibson Rattlers and the Hugh Campbell Champions C.C. Sweeting Cobras literally got involved in a physical battle with each other about halfway through their season opener at the D.W. Davis Gym. The principals want to suspend both teams for the remainder of the season, while the GSSSA is proposing a more lenient alternative. Apparently, the two parties are at odds in terms of coming to a compromise.
The principals association is the more authoritative figure among the two, but GSSSA President Alfred Forbes said that an unfavorable response by that body would almost certainly be appealed to the Ministry of Education.
"What you have here is that the futures of young basketball lives are at stake," said Forbes late last night. "The principals association want to suspend both teams for the remainder of the season, but in the GSSSA, we don't want to take that route because we don't want to jeopardize any of these young players receiving scholarships. Also, for the first time in a very long time, you would notice that in Vitamalt, the GSSSA has obtained a sponsor for the basketball regular season. Here you have the possibility of the two best teams in the country missing out on the entire regular season. We don't want Vitamalt to possibly pull their sponsorship because of a season that won't be as competitive because of the absence of the Rattlers and Cobras. Really and truly, there are a lot of things at stake here."
If both teams are suspended for the entire season, it could very well impact their availability for the 2012 Hugh Campbell Classic, as that prestigious basketball tournament is a GSSSA sanctioned event. The classic usually attracts a number of college scouts on a yearly basis, and a possible absence of the Rattlers and Cobras would deprive them of seeing some of the best high school basketball talent in the country in action.
Both teams would still be eligible for the Catholic High Christmas Invitational, though.
Rattlers' Head Coach Kevin 'KJ' Johnson has already gone on record saying that they will make adjustments for the rest of the season regardless of what decision is handed down. He said that they will have no choice but to abide by the decision, but just hopes that it's not "the death penalty (suspension for the entire season)", and will have a chance to defend their GSSSA championship.
Cobras' Head Coach Mario Bowleg said that he will reserve comment until after the sanctions are imposed.
The Rattlers and Cobras have combined for three of the past four GSSSA championships, and six of the past 11 Hugh Campbell titles. They played each other in the GSSSA championship series in two of the past three years, with the Cobras winning in a two-game sweep in 2010, and the Rattlers returning the favor in a two-game sweep last year. The two rivals also gave high school basketball fans in the country one of the more memorable Hugh Campbell finals in 2007, when the Cobras nearly blew a double-digit fourth quarter lead, but held on nonetheless to win their school's first Hugh Campbell tile. They added a second Hugh Campbell title this past year.

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