Peter Skene Ogden Secondary will host a high school basketball tournament this weekend, Feb. 10-11.
Eight teams will be competing for the championship title in the tourney. PSO Eagles coach Andrew Steeves said it’s the first tournament in several years and marks a growing interest in basketball among local youth.
“I think we’re going to see some really impressive basketball from our team and there are some really talented teams coming to our tournament,” Steeves said. “I think the momentum of basketball in the community has really been growing. There’s a junior girls’ team, a seniors girls’ team, the junior boys’ team and so I think it’s a fun time to check out what’s going on basketball-wise at the high school.”
The Eagles will be joined by teams from Williams Lake, Correlieu Secondary in Quesnel, Hope Secondary, Clearwater Secondary, Kumsheen ShchEma-meet School from Lytton and Cedars Christian School in Prince George. The Eagles junior boys team will fill the eighth slot because they couldn’t attract another seniors’ team.
“A few of the teams we’re pretty familiar with and played a few times but I think in general there’s a lot of teams from the Cariboo area,” Steeves said. “It’s nice to just be able to host a tournament at PSO for the first time I’ve been here coaching.”
The tournament will start Friday, with two round-robin divisions at PSO and Lake City Secondary School in Williams Lake. On Saturday, the finals will be held solely at PSO from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The community is invited to watch the tournament, free of charge. The team will be running a fundraiser for the 100 Mile Food Bank Society and donations are welcomed at the door.
The Eagles have played in five different tournaments ahead of this one. Steeves thanked their sponsors: Pointer Sign Shop, Hammer Collision and Glass, West Fraser - 100 Mile Lumber, 100 Mile Feed and Ranch Supply and Bridge Lake Electric.
Their goal is to win their hometown tournament and Steeves is confident that if they maintain their high level of play, they’ll be a serious contender.
“They’re coming together as a team, both offensively and defensively, and the culture for basketball is being built at PSO,” Steeves said. “Hopefully we can make a good run throughout the tournament and have a shot in the championship game.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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