Tyson Taylor
sports@pqbnews.com
There was plenty of basketball going around this weekend for fans of the hardwood game. Kwalikum Secondary School hosted both the junior girls and senior boys North Island Tournaments and saw some tight games.
The KSS Kondors senior boys, who had already secured a spot in the Island tournament next weekend, were playing out their games to see where they would be seeded heading into the Island tournament.
KSS took on the Highland Raiders in a rematch just over a week after they defeated the Raiders at home. It was Highland that took this game and handed the Kondors a loss on their home court. Highland ended up beating John Barsby for the number one ranking coming out of the North Island while KSS will be the number three seed.
Both the KSS and Ballenas junior girls were in North Island tournament action as well. KSS defeated Port Alberni in their first game while Ballenas lost to Vanier out of Courtenay. In their second game, the Kondors battled hard against a talented Mark Isfeld Secondary team from Comox, but came out on the losing end to set up a match between the cross-town rivals.
It was a back and forth affair between KSS and Ballenas and the two teams needed an extra frame to see who would advance for a shot at making the Islands. KSS wound up taking it in overtime by just four points. The Kondors ended up losing to Vanier for the final spot to go to the Island tournament.
The Ballenas Whalers senior girls were also in action this past weekend coming off a league championship win of their own as well. In a season that saw them beat two top 10 provincially ranked teams, the Whalers were looking to continue their success that saw them run the table in league play this season.
The Whalers’ winning ways continued as they were able to win the North Island title, defeating John Barsby 75–21, Cedar 60–33 and the eighth best team in the province Mark Isfeld Ice 49–41 in the final.
The Whalers went undefeated in league play but never saw their team reach the top 10 in the province, despite winning three games against those two top 10 ranked teams.
The Whalers senior girls kick off their Island tournament this Thursday against Parkland from Victoria.