The Wildcats didn't need to scratch and claw their way to victory – they won with ease.
Wellington Secondary School's senior boys and senior girls' basketball teams both won their divisions at the high school's annual Superball tournament this past week, Jan. 23-25. In the finals, the Wildcats boys defeated the Earl Marriott Mariners 95-63 after the 'Cats girls had defeated the Stelly's Stingers 48-41.
Luke Letham, coach of Wellington's boys, said his team played well, playing tough team defence and sharing the ball on offence. The Wildcats went inside to find advantages, and finishing in the post in turn opened up outside shots.
After playing four games in two days the previous weekend, Wellington appreciated the chance to rely on its depth to close out games at Superball.
"We used our bench a lot in all three games and a lot of times, when guys game out, we didn't miss much with guys coming in, they came in with the same kind of intensity," the coach said.
Wildcats player Grayson Ritzand, who was tournament MVP at Superball, said players were able to use the tourney to improve, working on aspects of their game against live competition. He said there was good energy no matter which players were on the floor for Wellington.
"Everyone got to score, everyone got to have fun in front of the crowd and have a good time…" he said. "All your friends are here, all the teachers are here and everyone gets excited. If you get a dunk or something, everyone just freaks out. It's good to have that energy. It's a fun experience."
Letham mentioned that elementary school students from feeder schools got to catch some of the action and he said some of Wellington's current players remember getting to watch Superball games at the high school when they were younger.
"It's a great tradition that we've had for a long time and it's a tournament that the [players] look forward to every year."
The Wildcats senior boys travelled to San Diego over the holidays, playing competitive games against U.S. teams, and they say they came back a better team.
"I think we're really coming together to make a deep playoff run, so I hope at the very end we can go as far as we can at provincials," Ritzand said.
The post-season is fast-approaching, with senior AAA boys' North Islands coming up in Port Alberni in February.
"I tell them you've really got to soak it all in because it goes really fast," Letham said. "Once you hit the end of January it's almost playoff time and it ends really quickly, so every practice, every game you've got to make the most of it."
In the boys' final at Superball, Ritzand led all scorers with 21 points and Jackson Peters and Holden West scored 12 each. In the girls' final, Charli Slater led her team with 16 points and Olivia Ingrey added 10.
