It was their first home game of the season and the Ballenas Whalers senior boys were looking to make the most of it, taking on a game Wellington Wildcats squad.
Coming off a good showing at the 60th Totem Tournament, the Whalers were looking for their first home win in league play.
The Whalers played a good game defensively but had trouble scoring on the other end, losing to a tough Wellington squad by 12 points, 55-43.
“We had trouble scoring the ball, plain and simple,” head coach Kevin McMillen said.
“Our defense was the best man to man we’ve played so far this season. We still have a long way to go with that but we’re getting there. Offensively, we just couldn’t buy a bucket.”
Starting their season late, the Whalers have some ground to make up in terms of getting up to the level of their competition.
The competition from here on out doesn’t get any easier for the Whalers, as they take on the Wildcats again and the NDSS Islanders, both are knocking on the door of the top ten rankings in the province at the AAA level.
“We’ve got a lot of tough basketball ahead of ourselves,” McMillen said.
“But these boys are up to the challenge. The way we’ve been playing with the amount of practice time we’ve had has been great for us. We’re competing in games without the benefit of an entire month of practice like the rest of the teams we’ve been facing.”
The Whalers are off to the Vanier tournament this weekend in Courtenay, where they open up against the Dover Bay Dolphins.