Junior Orange Bowl basketball Classic a good test for South Florida contenders

The Orange Bowl game featuring a College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Texas Teach and Oregon on Jan. 1 won’t be the only big event in South Florida.

There will plenty of Junior Orange Bowl activities leading up to the game as well and one of those will be the 36th annual Junior Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The event which is set for Saturday and Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 29-30, will have a new venue this year - Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, located at 500 SW 127th Ave.

For the boys, five local teams will be participating including Miami Palmetto, Mater Lakes Academy, Florida Christian and the host school Belen Jesuit, which through Monday’s games, had a combined record of 34-5.

Palmetto, Belen and Mater Lakes are ranked No. 3 (7A), No. 1 (5A) and No. 2 (4A) in the state, respectively.

Three out-of-state teams will complete the field, St. Johns College (Washington D.C), Bonner Prendie (Philadelphia) and Lakota West from West Chester, Ohio.

On the girls side locally, leading the way will be three teams who made it to the state final four in Lakeland last March, Doral Academy, Plantation American Heritage and Miami SLAM Academy along with Homestead Keys Gate Charter. Out of town teams will be Olmsted Falls (OH), George Rogers Clark (KY), St. Johns College (Washington, D.C.) and the tournament’s 2023 champion, Purcell Marian from Cincinnati, Ohio.

The two championship games are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. (girls) and 9 p.m. (boys).

“We’re extremely proud of the tradition of community service that our teams have shared over the years in all of these events,” said Junior Basketball Committee Chairman Chuck Little. “We’re once again looking forward to some great activities.”

For more information, contact Little at 786-546-3386, visit basketball@jrorangebowl.org or follow the Junior Orange Bowl on Instagram, Twitter or Tiktok.

SCHEDULE

Saturday - Girls: 10 a.m.: Olmsted Falls (OH) vs. Plantation American Heritage; 11:30 a.m.: St. Johns College (DC) vs. Miami SLAM Academy; 4:30 p.m.: Purcell Marian (OH) vs. Homestead Keys Gate Charter; 6 p.m.: George Rogers Clark (KY) vs. Miami Doral Academy; Boys: 1 p.m.: St. Johns College (DC) vs. Miami Florida Christian; 2:30 p.m.: Bonner Prendie (PA) vs. Miami Palmetto; 7:30 p.m.: Miami Westminster Christian vs. Miami Belen Jesuit; 9 p.m.: Lakota West (OH) vs. Mater Lakes Academy.