The district basketball tournaments have concluded, and Bay County teams did not secure a district championship, leaving all 12 programs anxiously awaiting their fate during the FHSAA bracket reveal show, Monday afternoon.
The Mosley boys and girls basketball teams are the only Bay County squads to qualify for the FHSAA playoffs, each earning a No. 7 seed in their respective brackets. Both teams will face tough competition in the opening round, traveling to Ponte Vedra to compete against the No. 2 seeded teams.
Mosley boys’ coach Derrio Green is preparing his team to face a formidable Ponte Vedra squad, which he considers one of the best in the region. In the coming days, Green will focus on breaking down film and fine-tuning his strategy.
“We’ve had some film, so we’ll start breaking down their film. Probably today will just be a normal practice, and after practice, when I get home, I’ll start breaking it down,” Green said. “They’re a really good team, probably have the best overall player remaining in Region 1. So, just trying to figure out how to stop them and the rest of the guys.”
Green emphasized that his team’s success will depend on a complete team effort.
“We did that pretty well in the district championships, so hopefully we can carry that over to the next game,” he said. “We’re going to have to make shots, create easy buckets, and defend team defense on No. 44.”
On the girls’ side, coach George Hines echoed a similar sense of urgency as his team prepares for its challenge ahead. With only a few days to prepare, Hines’ focus is on studying Ponte Vedra’s game footage and getting his players ready for the demanding road ahead.
“Now that we know where we’re going, the next few hours are about trying to find as much information as possible on our opponents,” Hines said. “The next few days, we’re going to practice and just try to gear up to go one and oh, one game at a time, one opponent at a time.”
Hines said his primary goal is to thoroughly prepare his team.
“My main focus in the next few hours is trying to find and dissect as much video as possible on our upcoming opponent, to prepare the girls as much as we can,” Hines said. “Hopefully, we get a chance to go down there, take care of business, and advance.”
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Mosley basketball teams are Bay County’s last hope in FHSAA playoffs
Reporting by Banji Bamidele, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
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