The John Paul II Collegiate Crusaders after winning bronze at the PA St. Mary's tournament. (Image Credit: John Paul II Collegiate/Facebook)

By Ryan Lambert

HOOPLA TOURNAMENT

John Paul II Collegiate senior boys basketball team ready for HOOPLA

Feb 27, 2026 | 6:00 AM

The HOOPLA boys’ high school provincial basketball tournament is underway this weekend in Moose Jaw, and the John Paul II Crusaders are making their way down after finishing in third place in their most recent tournament at PA St. Mary’s. 

They finished the season with a 13-8 record. Crusaders head coach Cooper Olson said at the start of the year, all their games seemed to be blowouts either way but recently, they’ve been involved in a lot of closer games which can help the team’s mentality and resilience in a provincial tournament. 

“I don’t know if you can ever really get used to pressure, and the pressure is going to look different depending on who your opponent is. But I think that our composure in big moments is probably going to be better from these things.” 

While the team had hoped for a better record than 13-8, they have played against some top competition and are happy with how they’ve fared.

“We’ve been playing teams that are like, not just above our division, but at the top end of the division ahead of us. So, it’s been really good to see how they match up against the best competition in the province,” said Olson. 

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Something that could be a blessing and a curse for the Crusaders is the familiarity among the team, with a lot of seniors who have played together since grade nine. 

“They kind of like, I don’t know if trust is the right word, but they understand each other and where they’re going to be and what they’re going to do, which I think helps a lot,” said Olson. “I also think in a kind of a small way, it might be a disadvantage, the fact that they might think that player A is going to do their job, so I don’t have to. But I think overall, it’s definitely a good thing.” 

The team had a three-point loss in the regional tournament last season after a 20+ point comeback to take the lead, something that they have used as motivation and will continue to do so.  

“I probably have used it more often than I should have,” said Olson. “Like I remember at the end of last year, I mentioned it. First practice this year we mentioned it just kind of in terms of like work ethic and practice. Like a hey, remember what that moment felt like.” 

Olson also has tried to use it as positive motivation in situations where they are down. “Remember like you guys have came back from down 20 against a very good team. So, we’ve kind of used it as motivation, but also as like, you have the ability to do these things,” Olson said. 

The Crusaders will tip off on Feb. 28 at 2pm when they face Humboldt in the first round. 

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com