WLC Royals reign supreme

Royals are crowned champions: Medicine Hat’s Roy Wilson Learning Centre Royals won the junior boys’ basketball tournament at Maple Creek Composite School on Saturday. Pictured with their plaque are Casey Van Maarion (assistant coach), Meryck Gervais, Jack Edwards, Eli Cardona, Beckham Schlenker, Chris Friess (head coach), Jonah Paley, Trey Van Maarion, Blake Buchberger & Weston Friess.

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

When Frontier pulled out of a four-team junior boys’ basketball tournament in Maple Creek, organizers scrambled to find a late replacement.

They found one in Medicine Hat’s Roy Wilson Learning Centre, not knowing what to expect.

What they got was a team called the Royals that reigned supreme at the event at Maple Creek Composite School (MCCS), forcing other players to raise their levels.

WLC Royals began with an 82-18 demolition of Vanguard, before beating Maple Creek 2 (Red) 56-20 and Maple Creek 1 (Black) 51-28.

In the final, WLC faced Maple Creek 2 (Red) again, winning 51-25.

In the awards ceremony, Rob Stewart, MCCS principal, presented a plaque to the Royals.

He thanked all those involved in the tournament, including coaches and players.

“Junior sport is critical for developing all kinds of sport,” he said.

Stewart pointed out that the tournament had been recorded by the school’s MCCS Streamer team.

Saturday’s tournament featured a round-robin format, guaranteeing each team three games. Quarters lasted eight minutes, with two minutes between them.

Coaches of the Maple Creek Rebels teams were Len Barkman (MC 1, Black) and Matthew Sheppard (MC 2, Red).

The two sides competed in the opening game, which MC 2 won 59-37.

Both teams went on to beat Vanguard: MC 1 won 48-34, MC 2 won 45-30.

For Barkman, the tournament was a good learning experience for the Maple Creek players.

“We didn’t know what to expect with the Medicine Hat team,” he said. “It meant we had to raise our game, so it was good from that point of view.”