Vikings senior basketball teams take regional hardware

“They had beaten us three out of the four games we’d played them this year, so we were probably rated as an underdog going into that game, but we scored a lot of points on fast breaks after creating turnovers which was definitely the key for us, and it was really nice to come out on top and pull off a win versus those guys,” head coach, Ryley Woiden said.

Tied at 77 by the end of the fourth, the game went to a five-minute overtime, with the Vikings coming away with a 92-85 victory. Woiden said the whole team only got stronger as the tournament went along, led by big performances by their veterans in the regional final.

“Arvin Rabino is one of our captains and he scored 27 points in the final, and Daniel Ogum, who’s also one of our Grade 12s had 23, so those guys had monster games, and then one of our Grade 11 guys, Hayden Oberg was really key for us defensively,” Woiden said. “He rebounded super well and matched up for us against some really big guys from Carlton and kind of shut them down, so those guys were really big for us in the finals.”

With the regionals gold, the Vikings senior boys now await the fate of this year’s HOOPLA tournament.

“I think going to HOOPLA would just mean the world to our kids,” Woiden said. “They’ve been working towards that goal for a very long time, and the thought of cancelation would be really devastating for not only myself, but the boys and for their families and for the school. We’re just really hoping and praying that the government and STF (Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation) can come to terms, and hopefully that happens before Wednesday so the tournament can go ahead.”

Senior girls

The Vikings senior girls won two of their three games on their way to the bronze in Prince Albert, defeating Yorkton Regional 52-46 in their opening game, before falling to top-seeded Swift Current in their second.

Facing off with PA Carlton in the bronze medal game, the Vikings took home a 44-34 win to take home the hardware and a place on the podium, despite being amongst the youngest teams competing at the tournament.

Head coach, Bryan Cottini said he’s proud of what the team was able to accomplish against a competitive 5A senior girls’ field.

“We have five Grade 9s on the team, so to go into a tournament like regionals and compete with that [young a roster] is pretty unheard of,” he said. “We’re a very young team and we don’t have any Grade 12s, so we went into it with some pretty reasonable expectations. We knew we could compete with some teams, and our young group really stepped up in the end.”

As for his thoughts on the uncertainty surrounding the fate of HOOPLA this week, Cottini said it wouldn’t be the first time circumstances beyond the team’s control could end their season prematurely in recent years.

“It’s not my first rodeo when it comes to this type of thing… We missed out on HOOPLA in 2020 when the sanctions and COVID got us, and again in 2021 with COVID, so it [wouldn’t be] my first time building something up and then having COVID or sanctions take it away,” he said.

If HOOPLA is given the green light, the tournament will take place in Moose Jaw this Thursday to Saturday.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

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by Martin Martinson

Vikings senior basketball teams take regional hardware

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