In its first trip to nationals, the Team Suffolk 10U boys’ basketball team got a picture of just how good it is.

The squad went 4-2 during the six-day 2015 Amateur Athletic Union 10U Division II boys’ basketball national championship in Clarksville, Tenn. in July, placing fifth in the nation and showing potential for placing even higher.

The local team’s coach, Keith Goode, had thumbs up and praise for all nine members of his squad.

“They really put forth a tremendous effort and represented the state of Virginia very well, and really, really represented Suffolk to the utmost,” he said.

The city of Suffolk was popping up in the same conversation with much larger cities.

“We won some games very handily and very convincingly against major cities like Chicago,” Goode said. “And also, we got invites from just about every other state to come out once they saw how strong the team was and how well they played, the cohesiveness of the team.”

Team Suffolk started pool play with a 41-23 victory and followed it up with a 22-point win over a team called the Charlotte Royals.

Then, in the final game before play in the championship bracket began, the local squad fell to a group called Team Nation, 35-24.

Team Suffolk recovered with a 47-46 victory over Indiana Elite Green.

“That was a barn-burner,” Goode said. “That went all the way down to the wire.”

Unfortunately for the local boys, they did not have long to rest after that, and the gymnasium where they were playing had air conditioning issues, making playing conditions muggy and humid, Goode said.

“We got like an hour in between the games, and we had to come back and play the winner of that morning game, and they just came in fresh,” the coach said. “Circumstances weren’t favorable, I wish we’d had a little more time in between the games, but we didn’t draw a favorable schedule that day, and we ended up losing that game.”

That loss meant Team Suffolk could not qualify for the final four, but there was still something left to fight for.

“We still could have ended up in eighth place or the best we could have finished was fifth,” Goode said.

The Suffolk squad won its next game, 39-29, and then came a rematch with Team Nation.

In Team Suffolk’s first meeting with that opponent, “We had a really funky game,” Goode said. “It was a horrible basketball game on our end. It was very sloppy, didn’t execute to our caliber. So they got a chance to see them again for that fifth place spot, and they completely handled them. They’d done what they’ve been doing all season.”

Using the ability that helped it claim eight tournament championships this season, Team Suffolk routed Team Nation 35-20.

Goode praised all eight of his players — or family members as he likes to call them — for valuable contributions made during nationals against some teams that had as many as 12 players.

And he was pleased to see them relish the spotlight that came with being fifth in the nation.

“It meant so much to me to watch the family go out there and accept their trophies and medals and everything they’ve earned,” he said. “Words can’t explain how I really just enjoyed seeing that revelation in their eyes.”

After seeing how his team stacked up against the top four Division II teams and how closely his squad played the Division I national champion earlier in the season, Goode plans to move his boys up to Division I next season.