By TIM GUERCIO

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Local Natchezian and businessman Randy Smith travels overseas every year, and he brings his company-sponsored basketball team with him.

This year he again took a veteran Team Louisiana along with him to Manchester, England, to participate in the GB Masters Basketball tournament that was played on June 7-14.

Team Louisiana, sponsored by Smith Mason & Co. was 4-0 in tournament play and won the Championship and the trophy with a 43-22 final victory over former London British champs Crystal Palace.

GB stands for Great Britain and the “masters” designation is for men over 60 years of age.

Smith knows that part of the world very well, as he worked and lived in Aberdeen, Scotland, for six years.

“I was in Aberdeen, which is northern Scotland, and was in the oilfield training business from 1980-1986,” Smith said. “We had a basketball league and represented our towns, we played all the time, and I played as much golf as I could, too, Turnberry, Troon, St. Andrews.”

Age groups for the tournament were 40s, 50s and 60s Smith said.

Smith said he loves the game of basketball. He played at Natchez High for Richard Williams and Clyde Adams and then was talented enough to play on the team at Co-Lin and then Delta State University.

“This was our 16th year to participate over there,” Smith said. “In our 60s bracket, we had eight teams.”

This is the third year in a row that Team Louisiana has won the Championship.

The talent on the team included Vidalia High School basketball coach Robert Sanders and coach Anthony “Tree” Leblanc from Jennings, Louisiana.

“I call us Team Louisiana,” Smith said, “because I lived in Lafayette for 20 years and we practice a lot in Vidalia and have the two coaches on the team from Louisiana.” Along with Smith and others from Smith Mason & Co. Team Louisiana, they were able to defeat a Cinzano sponsored, London Team; Crystal Palace, for a threepeat.

Smith has also sponsored for the last three years the Natchez Community Basketball tournament, which is held in the Cathedral gymnasium every year and has hosted teams from Europe here to play with local adult league teams.

“We are excited and thankful to be able to play in the Cathedral gym, this will be our fourth year and we will play the tournament again this year in November,” Smith said.