Helping Hoops Tournament Tips Off
Fourteen out of town senior boys basketball teams and two teams from Moose Jaw are set to take part in the Helping Hoops Invitational Basketball Tournament February 26th - 28th.
The brain child of longtime Peacock Toilers head coach Troy Setter the tournament is in two parts - helping out in the community and the actual tournament itself.
Unfortunately for the Peacock Toilers and the Vanier Vikings both of the local teams lost their opening games on Thursday afternoon.
Peacock Toilers - 64 Estevan Elecs - 77
“It was a tough one. We went on spurts here and there on offence and defence and we couldn’t just be consistent the entire game,” Peacock Toilers head coach Raman Mal said.
Although the tournament has little effect in rankings or the push for a local championship Mal said it gives the coaches an extra opportunity to look at things whether they be good or bad.
“We’re always looking at giving the boys constructive criticism so they know what went well and what went wrong and what we can work on for next time,” he said, adding “it’s a bonus we take back to make our team better.”
The main problem for the Toilers was consistency, Mal said.
“We had good looks but (we) just couldn’t make shots. We had some good D here and there but we just couldn’t do it through the entire four quarters.”
The Toilers started strong.
“We had a good start and needed that but we need to keep that going the entire game,” he said.
The tournament is not just about playing basketball but it is also about helping underprivileged kids.
“We set it up, all credit to (Toilers’ head coach) Troy (Setter) for helping and giving back to the community. As part of this year’s effort we partnered with SaskEnergy and did a Helping Hoops Clinic,” Mal said.
The learn to play basketball clinic and pizza party was held at Riverview Collegiate and had about 20 children show up to participate.
THE PEACOCK TOILERS SENIOR BOYS TEAM AND PARTICIPANTS AT THE CLINIC - SUBMITTED PHOTO
“Part of the premise of helping hoops is giving back to Moose Jaw and surrounding area,” Mal said.
With their loss the Peacock Toilers will take on the loser of the Thursday evening matchup between North Battleford and Winston Knoll.
The game goes at 6:30 pm Friday.
Admission is $5 per day and you may request a stamp to have come and go privileges for the day.
There is a wide selection of home baked goodies going for a buck or two so bring your change for cookies, brownies, cup cakes and rice crispy cake.
The Scoresheet
Vanier Vikings - 46 Luther Lions - 61
Offensively the Vanier Vikings had three key players - Walker, Gray and Van - who charged the backboard.
They scored a number of baskets but they also on numerous occasions ran into the brick wall the tough Luther Lions put up.
Walker managed to out battle the Lions on offensive rebounds which ended up as baskets.
The action and pressure the Vikings put on close up are not reflected on the scoresheet.
The Vikings defence had a tough time with Luther’s speed and talent on quick transitions from defence to offence.
The Lions were calm during transitions and did not allow the Vikings to set up any successful presses and traps.
For a large portion of the third and fourth quarters the gap was 21 points between the teams.
The Vikings managed to shrink the gap late in the game.
The Luther Lions are seen as a tough and consistent competitor and unfortunately for the Vikings the Lions lived up to the hype.
With their loss the Vanier Vikings will take on the loser of the Thursday evening matchup between PA St Mary’s and Grenall.
The game goes at 5:00 pm Friday.
The Scoresheet