MOOSE JAW -- Moose Jaw will once again be well represented at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association provincial basketball championships.
Three teams from the Friendly City will take the court at the annual extravaganza known as Hoopla, which takes place during the Mar. 17 weekend in Saskatoon.
The reigning city champion and defending provincial champion Central Cyclones went into their 4A boys regional playdown as the top seed and heavy favourites and lived up to the advance billing, posting a pair of dominating wins.
Central opened with a 110-28 win over 16-seed Notre Dame and then booked their Hoopla spot with a 98-52 victory over Meadow Lake.
The Cyclones will now face five-seed Regina Harvest City in their Hoopla opener after Harvest City upset four-seed North Battleford John Paul II in their regional final.
Regina Luther will take on Regina Johnson in the other 4A boys semifinal.
The Central Cyclones entered their 4A girls regional playdown as the third seed and also posted a pair of comfortable wins to earn their Hoopla berth.
The Cyclones got things started with a 71-31 win over 14-seed Kindersley and then claimed their regional title with a 58-44 win over North Battleford John Paul II.
Central will now face two-seed and perennial rival Meadow Lake Carpenter in their semifinal, while Regina Harvest City will take on the Vanier Spirits (see below) in the other opening round game at Hoopla.
The Vanier Spirits were the four-seed heading into 4A girls regionals and like their fellow Hoopla-bound Moose Jaw counterparts didn’t have a lot of difficulty advancing.
The Spirits rolled to an 82-9 win over 13-seed Martensville to open regionals before downing five-seed Melville 59-42 to book their Hoopla berth.
The second-seed Peacock Toilers were upset in the second round of the 5A boys regional playoff, dropping a 90-75 decision to the seven-seed Swift Current Colts. Swift Current went all the way to the regional final before falling to top-seed Prince Albert Carlton 100-51.
The seven-seed Toilers won their opening game of the 5A girls regional 69-43 over the Balgonie Greenall Griffins, but lost in the quarter-final 68-32 to second-seed Prince Albert Carlton. Moose Jaw league champion Swift Current lived up to their top-seed billing and took an 84-38 win over Carlton in the final.
Be sure to keep an eye on for Hoopla schedules when they’re released on Monday.
