ASAA Basketball Provincial Championships wrap up

Times Photo by Meg Noguchi. BLOCKED: St. Mary’s School hosted the Alberta Schools Athletic Association 1A Boys Basketball Provincial Championships March 20-22. St. Mary’s School played against E.H. Walter School on Thursday.

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

Late last week, several Taber schools saw their basketball teams compete in the Alberta Schools Athletic Association (ASAA) Provincial Championships.

1A Boys

Taber was well repented in the 1A Boys Division as the tournament was hosted in Taber at St. Mary’s and W.R. Myers. St. Mary’s and Taber Christian were both in the draw looking to add a banner to their season. St. Mary’s entered the tournament ranked #5 while Taber Christian was ranked #3. St. Mary’s opened up against EH Walter while Taber Christian had a bye. St. Mary’s would cruise to a 79-64 victory in their opening game and move on to face #4 Worsley Central.

In their first game of the tournament on March 13, Taber Christian scored early and often to win 105-48 over Gobind Sarvar. After getting bounced from the ‘A’ bracket, St. Mary’s moved down to the ‘B’ pool, where they took on Father Gerard Redmond. It was a tight game, and the Celtics won 66-64 to advance.

Friday night saw Taber Christian take on #2 ranked Olds Koinonia Christian. Taber Christian was once again able to cruise to a big win as they took it 98-55. In the fifth place game, St. Mary’s took to the court to play Gobind Sarvar. In another close game for the Celtics, St. Mary’s was unable to find a win as they fell 72-69 and took sixth place in the tournament.

In the final, Taber Christian took on the #1 ranked Coaldale Christian. As their toughest test so far, Taber Christian was unable to best the top ranked team as they fell 83-54.

2A Girls 

The Taber Christian girls were off to Rundle College in Calgary for their 2A tournament. Ranked #6, Taber Christian took on host Rundle College ranked #11 to open the tournament. Taber proved to be too tough of a test for the host as they took it 61-41 and moved on.

Later that evening, Taber Christian was back on the court as they looked to defeat #3 ranked High Level. It was a closer game, but Taber Christian once again prevailed — this time with a 56-45 win. In the semi-final, it was Taber Christian versus #2 ranked Immanuel Christian. Unfortunately for Taber, they were unable to upset two times in a row as they fell 61-42.

Looking to cap off the tournament with a win, Taber Christian took on #5 ranked Oilfields for the bronze medal. Once again, Taber proved to be a tough test as they were able to claim the bronze medal with a 59-48 win.

3A Boys

The W.R. Myers Rebels boys squad was in Fort McMurray for the 3A Provincial Championships. They entered as the #9 ranked team and faced off against #8 Holy Rosary on Thursday. Despite being the under dogs, the Rebels were able to take it 87-72.

They were in for a tough test later that evening they were on the court against #1 ranked Brooks. That would be as far as they could go as they dropped the game 90-68. Losing against Brooks saw the Rebels drop to the ‘B’ pool where they took on McCoy on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t the Rebels’ day as they fell 80-59.