The news everyone in Moose Jaw high school basketball was dreading has come to pass.
With the announcement of three days of extracurricular services withdrawal by the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation on Friday morning, the Moose Jaw High Schools Athletic Association has been forced to cancel the senior basketball finals scheduled for Monday night.
The finals were to feature the Vanier Spirits attempting to defend their championship against the unbeaten Swift Current Ardens, while the Central Cyclones were to take the floor in a highly anticipated rematch against the Peacock Toilers in their title game.
Spirits head coach Christa Lapointe took a pragmatic approach to news of the cancellation.
“We’re co-champions,” she said. “Iit doesn’t take away from Vanier or Swift Current or Peacock or Central, to get to the finals is a big accomplishment itself, so it’s a good display of all the hard work the players and coaches put in.”
As part of the STF’s direction the city finals won’t be rescheduled, bringing the local league season to an end.
There’s still much basketball to be played, though, with the provincial playdowns leading into Hoopla 2024 in Moose Jaw still on the docket.
To that end, conference playdowns will take place at Riverview Collegiate this weekend, with six teams vying to advance to regionals in the 3A boys division. The top teams there will advance to regionals during the Mar. 15 weekend, followed by Hoopla 2024 in Moose Jaw during the Mar. 22 weekend.
