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Dennery’s Dupre Dominating Schools Basketball

At the halfway stage of the 2024-25 Under-19 Boys Schools Basketball Tournament, Patricia D James Secondary School (PDJSS) are in second place in Group A, after winning their most recent encounter 54-30 over Entrepot Secondary School (ESS) at the Beausejour Gymnasium last Thursday. 

The La Clery-based institution is well set for the playoffs, and much of that is down to a student-athlete from Dennery with a strong family background in sports.

Junior Dupre has been scoring at a high level in the team’s three games to date – two wins and one loss. Against ESS, the 18-year-old scored 24 points and added 25 rebounds, 11 of them at the offensive end. The focus of the opposition’s defence, he also had 10 turnovers, and shot just 8-41 from the field, to go with 8-14 from the free throw line.

Dupre acknowledges that he is still has a long way to go to become a better player, but he is putting in the work.

“I went to play for Saint Lucia at the ALBA Games in 2023, and it just showed me where I needed to be, and I wasn’t a complete player,” he admitted. “I mean, when we went and played Venezuela and Dominica it was really tough for me, I was just learning the game, I was 16 years old. So I learned from the players that played the game, like the Venezuelan team. And I just took pieces of their game and it’s really helped me through this tournament.”

In the win over ESS, Dupre was well supported by Maliq Mitchell, who netted 18 points to go with 19 rebounds. Daniel Martin had 14 rebounds, and Barnett Bledman added six steals. 

Junior Dupre goes up for a shot.

Dupre, the man of the moment, concedes that he had to grow into his affection for the school, but now he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Coming from Dennery, he wept when he was assigned to PDJSS after completing his primary school exit exam. But his father’s support helped him fit into his new environs. 

“My father used to go to the school and he just gave me courage,” he said with a smile. “Because he told me that doesn’t matter where you go, it’s how you finish. And I like my school, I love everybody that goes to it, my friends, teachers, even my coach and my teammates. I love them. They are like family to me.”

His father, Anthony Vidal, played for the Dennery Dolphins basketball team. His uncle, Desmond, also known as ‘McDyess,’ was also a Dolphin, and a long-time national player. They were the ones who steered Dupre away from football and onto the court. His ambition is to build on the family legacy by playing the game at the collegiate and perhaps the professional level – dreams and goals towards which he is putting in the work.

In other Group A action at the Beausejour Gymnasium, defending champions, Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School, remain winless, after going down 51-19 to Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School. In Group B, Castries Comprehensive Secondary School got their first win, beating Corinth Secondary 36-24. 

The competition continues on Tuesday.

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