The final day for the 2022 return lived up to some high billing with some exciting matchups that started in a pair of Semi Finals in the morning, leading up to the Final Four of the afternoon.
The day started with the Intermediate Boys semi final and a lets get to work attitude for the Prince Rupert Cubs who dominated their competitors from Bella Bella by a score of 91-42, securing Prince Rupert the spot in the final to come later in the evening.
The other Semi Final for the Men's Championship saw the Metlakatla Alaska team continue its march to the Championship game, though it would not come easy as they battled hard with Skidegate in a back and forth game that saw the Haida Gwaii side come up just a bit short of a return to the main event for Saturday evening.
Women's Division Final
When the Finals rolled around after the lunch hour, the Women took to Centre Court, a game that may have seemed destined from Wednesday, when Similkameen and Vancouver tangled in early round play, the Similkameen team claiming victory then, with that victory sending them off to qualify with a day of rest as their reward.
The Vancouver side had to make a more circuitous route to the Final game, a week of hard fought battles to gain the rematch which came on Saturday afternoon. And for the All My Relations ladies the work ethic required to make the final paid off as they took control of play early and then held off a late surge from the Similkameen team with 57-51 the final score that delivered one of two championships to head south in 2022.
Masters Division Final
The Masters Division provided for an all Nass Valley battle, with New Aiyansh and Gitwinisihlkw providing for a reunion from a Semi Final showdown on Thursday.
The results were much the same as that Thursday match up, with New Aiyansh building a healthy lead over Gitwinksihlkw by half time.
The Lizards would battle back through much of the second half but never could close the gap beyond nine points, New Aiyansh taking charge by the end of the third quarter, then making a strong run for the finish line, claiming their second consecutive Master's title by a score of 98 to 75
Intermediate Division Final
The energy of youth was on display by late afternoon, though for the Prince Rupert Cubs the wish might have been that they had saved some of their points from the morning Semi Final for use against a high tempo and skilled group from Burnaby.
The fast pace and enthusiastic play was highly entertaining for the first half as the teams exchanged rushes up the court and traded off shot for shot on the way to 39-36 half time score, the Cubs defensive play making for much of their success early on.
The second half saw the Burnaby side begin to take control however, with turnovers and strong rebounding a strong element to their play as they found and added on to their offensive range.
The Prince Rupert boys giving it as good a shot as they could, but as the clock wound down in the last few minutes they needed to take more chances that didn't pan out, with the Burnaby group bringing strong defensive hold to delivering the Lower Mainland with a second champion for Tournament week with Burnaby topping Prince Rupert 81 to 68
Senior Men's Division Final
The Kitkatla Warriors were back for their second shot in consecutive tournaments for a Championship result, the memories of a loss to Skidegate two years ago perhaps a strong motivator as they took on the challenge from the North offered up by the Metlakatla Sons.
The two teams who last met on Wednesday took the measure of each other for the first quarter with Kitkatla taking the edge on scoring with a 29-18 advantage, they built on that lead on the way to half time spurred on by a fast paced offensive push that left the Metlakatla side reeling a bit, the Warriors taking a 55-29 lead into half time.
The Sons came out for the third quarter with a strong attack and chipped away at the large Kitkatla lead but the Warriors didn't crack at the prospect of that push, beating back the attempt to overtake them, Kitkatla completely dominating the play over the last six minutes to complete their quest for the Championship.
By the final buzzer the Warriors had re-established a large spread on the scoreboard, with an 85 to 70 victory.
With Tournament number 62 in the books, the planning is probably just a few days away for the 2023 event which will return to its more familiar mid February date.
Tournament organizers however should take a few moments to soak in the success of 2022, a tournament that almost was scuppered again by COVID, and one that required a shift in date to get in and yet came together with no visible challenges or stresses and provided for a much welcome return for visitors and community alike.
To be able to pivot so much so often over the last few months is worthy of an All Star vote for the organizers who were able to stay the course to return the tradition to its home port in Prince Rupert.
Another group that deserves some shout outs is the hard working team from CFNR who as has been the case for a number of years now, have delivered an impressive product once again.
From providing play by play of many of the games, countless features of the tournament players and moments from the week they have served the event well, providing a well produced spotlight for the event.
The volume of well-wishes they received from many communities that couldn't make the trip to Prince Rupert is a testimony to the value of their tireless work of the week and the ever improving way they bring the event to a wider and wider audience.
You can sample some of that work, or catch up on some of the things you may have missed through their ANBT Tournament homepage.
For the players, coaches and their fans a wish for safe return as they make they way home from Prince Rupert, 2022 provided a chance for a reunion of sorts and now we can't wait for February of 2023 when we can bring the city to life again and follow the event that means so much to so many.
You can review some of the notes of the week from our archive page here.
No comments:
Post a Comment