The Bob Bate Memorial Alumni Basketball Tournament rekindled the competitive spirit of past Kwalikum Secondary School players and also instilled some inspiration to the current Kondors team.
The popular annual hoops event, which was founded by the late Bob Bate and current Kondors senior girls team coach Dave Frampton, drew close to 60 players that engaged in two days of hardcourt action.
Head coach of the current KSS senior boys team, Taylor Wilson, said the tournament is always well-attended with teams not only playing for the sake of having fun but also to win.
This year, there were six men’s teams that included this year’s Kondors team. There were two women’s teams, the current Kondors team and alumni.
This year’s title went to a team called “Soccer Players.” They consisted of KSS graduates from 2012-2014 and most of them were also former soccer players.
The Soccer Players beat “We’ll Take The Tie” 63-57, a team that featured players that saw action at the BC High School Basketball Championships.
It was a closely contested final that had some moments of physical plays.
Soccer Players enjoyed a slim 11-8 lead at the end of the first quarter but We’ll Take The Tie closed the half with a 28-26 lead.
In the third quarter Soccer Players got their offense working well from behind the arc and inside to lead 45-37. In the final quarter, We’ll Take The Tie tightened their defense and with Jesse Goring leading the offense were able to regain the lead 46-45.
The score was tied 52-52 with just over two minutes left to play. Kevin Frampton steered Soccer Players back into the lead and never looked back while We’ll Take The Tie faltered as they committed too many errors down the stretch.
Frampton ended up winning the Golden Shoe Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
“I’ve been playing in this alumni tournament for six years and this is my first time to have won it,” said Frampton. “So it’s nice to win it.”
The Kondors Alumni women took this year’s crown as they bested the current Kondors senior girls team.