On Friday, April 14, in the 2023 Copper Cities Youth Sports (CCYS) Division 4 basketball championship, the Black Panthers finished an unbeaten season with a 39-5 win over Team Tena. The Black Panthers are coached by Gary Hernandez and Annie Villalobos. Villalobos said an undefeated season “doesn’t happen very often, so we were glad to have the kids there to make it happen.”

Two Black Panthers players, Ben Layton and Drew Hernandez, are in their final year with CCYS. “The two of them had a great season,” said Villalobos. “They did really well and were good role models to the younger players.”