Thomas Felix, 'Mr. Mvp'

Part I of the article presented on Thomas Felix's entry into basketball, his prowess on the court and his representing Dominica in basketball. The article concludes below.

Representing Blazers: Besides sporting Dominica's colours in basketball, Thomas has also represented his club Blazers in tournaments in St. Kitts, Tortola, Guadeloupe and St. Maarten. In addition, he represented Blazers in a friendly tournament against Antigua's Big Banana Express in Dominica in 2011.

Silverware Glitters: Over Felix's career which is still current, he has already amassed several awards and accolades from playing in the national league and three community leagues. His impressive, well-stocked cabinet contains trophies for:- MVP, 2004 Pointe Michel Basketball League Ball-o-Rama MVP, Rencontre InterCaribéennes de Basket Tournament in Guadeloupe, 2007 MVP, 2007 DABA National Play-Offs MVP, 2011 DABA National Play-Offs MVP, Goodwill 2013 Off-Season League Play-Offs MVP, Trafalgar 2013/2014 Off-Season Play-Offs MVP, 2013 LIME National Play-Offs MVP, 2014 DABA Presidents' Cup Tournament MVPs, 2014 DABA Premier Division Regular League & Play-Offs MVPs, 2015 DABA Premier Division Regular League & Play-Offs MVP, 2015 DABA Presidents' Cup Tournament MVP, DABA 3x3 Tournament, 2021 2015 DABA Premier Division Player of the Week (Weeks #4 and #8) Three-Point Champion, Goodwill Off-Season League, 2013 and * Three-Point Champion, DABA 3x3 Tournament, 2021.

Additionally, Thomas received the prestigious National MVP Award for Basketball from the Sports Division on five occasions, viz. 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

His Off-Season Engagements: Although Thomas has played quite a bit of 'Off-Season' basketball, he has only participated in three such community leagues. He displayed his skills with M&M Stars from Massacre in the 2004 edition of the Pointe Michel Basketball League; with Maggnificos in the Goodwill Basketball League in 2014; and with Benchers in the 2018/2019 edition of the Roseau Valley Basketball League which was staged in Trafalgar.

Friendly & Overseas Engagements: Playing friendly matches is something that players often look forward to, facing up to the challenge from opposing teams, or even challenging them to friendly encounters. Playing with Blazers, Thomas has thus far been hosted by Raiders at Portsmouth, Prowlers at Trafalgar and Snipers at Paix Bouche.

Playing overseas, Felix spent two seasons in Guadeloupe and must have sipped some fine champaigne after assisting his team, Etoile de L'Ouest (EDO) capture a championship in their local league in 2012.

Coach & Administrator Thomas: Although Thomas is some years away from retiring from playing competitive basketball, he has already begun to give back to his community in the sport.

In 2016 he served as coach of Blazers DI, the 'junior' team to the Premier Division Blazers; they in the 2nd Level Men's Division of the DABA. He also served on the executive of the Blazers Sports Club in the capacity of Public Relations Officer for some time.

Thomas' Basketball Pocketbook: Thomas, who loves backyard gardening, has already clocked 23 years of competitive basketball to his name. And, while he may not have another 23 years to go before packing away the ball, he still plays with a considerable amount of energy. In fact, playing with Young Veterans in DABA's National 3x3 Tournament which was held at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium Forecourt in June 2021 Thomas was adjudged the tournament's MVP. And he admits, 3x3 is "a very intense game which calls for constant movement of the ball. And that makes you want to stay fit to compete."

• Some of the players on Blazers I with whom Thomas has played to date include Denver Dublin, Sean Esprit, Jeff Jeremy, Javeed Joseph, Lester Langlais and Lindson Lynch and others.

• Surprisingly, the DABA team that Felix enjoys playing against the most is Sharks which hails from Scott's Head. He finds that Sharks "were always willing to compete".

• His current favourite player in the NBA is Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets; he just loves how Kevin plays.

• In August 2021 Thomas was eagerly awaiting the completion and commissioning of Dominica's first indoor sports facility, in his home village.

Additionally, Felix made these general comments about what keeps him going: "For me, it has always been the love, passion, talent, tenacity and competitive spirit that has kept me playing all these years... always trying to balance between making a living, staying healthy and playing the game that I love."

Remarks: Jump Ball wishes Thomas all the best in his endeavours and looks forward to him continuing to give back to the sport either at the national level or to his community. And keep on chalking up those scores!

Some of the information presented above was sourced from DABA Statistical Reports for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 basketball seasons and from archived newspapers.