St. Pius X High School will host the 11th annual SPX Christmas Classic on Monday to Wednesday, Dec. 27-29. The tournament features 16 boys and girls basketball teams from eight different states and is considered a premier Catholic high school basketball tournaments.

Winners of the tournament are presented with the Msgr. Richard Lopez Trophy, named after Msgr. Lopez, who is chaplain and a teacher at St. Pius X since 1980.

Teams that are competing in both divisions of the tournament this year include St. Pius X, Atlanta; St. Joseph School, Greenville, S.C.; Pinecrest Academy, Cumming; and St. Pius X, Houston. Other teams participating in the boys division are defending champion Brother Martin High School, New Orleans; Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Miami, Fla.; Tampa Catholic High School, Tampa, Fla.; St. Thomas More Preparatory School, Magnolia, Del.; while Xavier University Preparatory, New Orleans; Notre Dame Academy, Staten Island, N.Y.; St. John Villa Academy, Staten Island; and Mercy High School, Omaha, Neb., round out the girls field.

This year the games will tip off Monday, Dec. 27, with eight games in each gym beginning at 1:30 p.m. and conclude with the final game of the night at 8 p.m. featuring the St. Pius X Golden Lions boys team taking on St. Joseph’s. The St. Pius X girls squad will also host St. Joseph’s earlier in the evening at 6 p.m. Games on Tuesday, Dec. 28, begin with consolation bracket play at 12:30 p.m., and teams in the championship bracket play at 1 p.m.

The finals of the girls bracket will be Wednesday, Dec. 29, at 5 p.m. and the boys game will be at 7 p.m. The third-place games for each division will start at 3 p.m., with the fifth place and seventh place games at 1 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively, for both brackets.

In addition to the tournament games, a Mass and banquet will be held on Sunday evening, Dec. 26, for all participating teams and families. St. Pius X also sponsors a dance for the participating schools on Tuesday evening after the set of games. The participating schools have also attended Georgia Tech sporting events, Atlanta Falcons, Hawks and Thrashers games over the years while attending the tournament.

Tournament passes may be purchased for $12, and single-day tickets are available at the game site for $5. Catholic Metro League of Atlanta basketball players are admitted free if they wear their jerseys.

St. Pius X High School is located at 2674 Johnson Road, NE, Atlanta.

For more information and to see the brackets for both the boys and girls teams, visit the tournament website at www.spx.org/SPXChristmasClassic.