Chris Crumpler and his team are putting the final touches to the first annual Thanksgiving Basketball Classic with squads scheduled to touch down in Bermuda in the coming days in preparation for next week's tournament.

National basketball player Crumpler is the brainchild behind the tournament, which will be run over a two-day period, November 26 and 27, and said he was pleased with how preparations are finally showing the final product in time for the spectacle.

"The preparations are coming along fine, it has been a lot of hard work to get it to really come together but God is good and people have stepped up to the plate and we are excited," said Crumpler.

"All the teams from abroad are confirmed and excited to be coming here and our local kids are working hard in preparation for the event, they are practising all week and are ready to go

"We are ready for the event and because it is new to everyone we are excited to see how it will work out.

"The local guys have been training for the past two months for this and hopefully they can come out and make a good showing of themselves."

Eight teams – five from overseas and three from Bermuda – will contest the Classic with games to be played at both CedarBridge and Berkeley Institute.

Teams involved includee Durango High and Chaparral High out of Las Vegas, Francis Parker High from San Diego, Metro Prep from Toronto, and Georgetown District High from Ontario.

The Bermuda teams will be a mix of all schools on the Island.

Each team will play four games, two games each day, with Friday's results determining who goes into the consolation bracket for fourth to eighth place and who goes into the championship bracket, with the top four battling for the title.

While the tournament is in its first year, Crumpler is happy with the product considering the work it has taken to put it all together and the expectations placed on the event.

"The expectations are pretty good because we will be streaming through the Internet for those who aren't on the Island as well as scouts who may want to look at a few kids.

"Some of the schools are coming from California and Toronto, so that helps them to get in on the action.

"The Bermuda Sports Network (BSN) is helping out in the filming and to have them on board for the first time this is being run is great and maybe we can get ESPN come to down in the future to make it a bigger, better event . . . that would be a huge achievement as well.

"We have qualified high school officials coming in to officiate, so this is a major accomplishment for us . . .

"People are already talking about what we can do next year to make it even better and this can only get better."

The Paget Bearcats player said the fact that the Classic is now reality is, for him personally, a dream come true.

"When you as a person think of something in your head and say that this would be great if we could do it, to go from a thought to an actually product has blown me away, but also you don't understand totally the amount of work that needs to be done in order to get if up and running.

"I can definitely say that even with little obstacles here and there it has still been a blessing and a huge learning curve.

"I have learned how to coordinate people from different places and how they need to be sorted out and so forth, so overall it has been enjoyable and a true experience."

For tickets and information on the Classic, Crumpler can be contacted at 332-7827 or e-mail Bermudabasketball@gmail.com for information.

Admission for the games is $10 for a day pass, $50 for patrons that will include admission to all games, free food and drinks, and $100 for everything included in the patrons package as well as VIP seating and a complimentary tee-shirt.