Victoria Teams Lead the Way Into March Madness
High school basketball neared the peak of the season this weekend as several Island Championships concluded in and around the Victoria area.
In the AA Boys Islands at Ladysmith, the host squad Ladysmith defeated Brentwood College 65-38 to claim the title. Ladysmith's Jake Hayton won MVP of the tournament. In the consolation game local giant Lambrick Park defeated Nanaimo’s Cedar 81-78 to grab the third and final birth into the AA Boys Provincial Championships in Kamloops from March 4-7.
Lambrick Park played host to the AA Girls Island Championships, as the local favorites SMU took down a surprise Cahri team from Campbell River 55-39 to earn the championship. Both teams gain births into the AA Girls Provincial Championships also slated in Kamloops the first week of March.
In the A Boys Island finals in Ucluelet, #1 seed Ahousaht defeated local school and recent provincial powerhouse Glenlyon Norfolk 89-79. Both gain entry to the A Boys Provincial Championships March 4-7 in Abbotsford.
Going down a level, the Jr. Boys Island Championships were held locally at Claremont this weekend, with the host team following up a city championship with an island title after defeating Nanaimo school Dover Bay in the finals. Oak Bay narrowly defeated up and coming Lambrick Park to take third in the tourney and gain the final entry into the Jr. Boys BC Championships March 5-7 in Cowichan. The Jr. Boys provincials will be the only BC's to be held on the Island this year.
Following this weekend's Lower Island Championships at Stelly's, The AAA Boys will resume their road to the Agradome with the 59th Annual Island Championships at Mt. Doug next weekend. Oak Bay followed up their regular season title with a victory in the Lower Island playoff finals 91-74 over Belmont last night. Claremont took third defeating Mt. Doug 53-48. The top three teams are all automatically in this weekend's tourney, as Mt. Doug will attempt to play-in with a victory against North Island challenge Highland this week.
The AAA Girls Island Championships will also take place next weekend in Nanaimo at Dover Bay. More info on that tournament to come this week.
Stay tuned to VSO for continuous coverage of Victoria's teams leading up to the Provincials in March
