麻豆社区

The sixth annual Kilrich Building Centres Lights Out Yukon Invitational Basketball tournament brought the hoops to town for three days of action. The tournament brought out 27 teams - the most in the tournament鈥檚 history according to organizer Lianne Fordham. She attributed the growth to a few factors. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the most teams we鈥檝e had out,鈥� said Fordham. 鈥淚t was almost double than last year. Basketball is becoming more popular, and the Raptors鈥� success is helping. As well, the town is growing and more youth are getting involved.鈥� Included in this year鈥檚 rendition of the tournament was a youth division. It鈥檚 the first time it鈥檚 been included. Boosting the numbers further were the six travel teams that participated. Fordham said there was a women鈥檚 team from Vancouver that shined. 鈥淭here was an amazing women鈥檚 team from Vancouver that came up,鈥� said Fordham. 鈥淭hey were so flawless and smoked all of us. They were beautiful to watch.鈥� Fordham said the Vancouver team was happy to see the territory, as well plans are in the works for them to come up again to run clinics for the youth. 鈥淭hey were so excited to see the Yukon and see the size of the basketball community,鈥� said Fordham. 鈥淭hey work with Aboriginal youth doing basketball clinics. We would like to see this (Lights Out) become a week-long thing.鈥� Development of the game was still on display during Lights Out and Fordham hopes that trend continues in the future. 鈥淲e hope to see more clinics and more development,鈥� said Fordham. 鈥淏asketball Yukon had a refs clinic as well as developed scorekeepers for the Arctic Winter Games. It was more than just about the players and the games.鈥� What鈥檚 attractive about the Lights Out tournament, Fordham said, is the sense of community. 鈥淭he best part is it was all game on the court and everyone played to their full capacity,鈥� said Fordham. 鈥淥ff the court it kept that community feel.鈥� Using the tournament as preparation for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse was the boys鈥� basketball team - who played in the men鈥檚 division. Coach Tim Brady said it was a good learning opportunity for the team. 鈥淚 thought we did pretty well,鈥� said Brady. 鈥淲e won our first two games then played in the quarter-finals and lost by two points in a game that could have gone either way. 鈥淚t was a good weekend to learn from. It was our first games as a team. It helped us understand and learn where we are at.鈥� Competing against older and strong athletes, Brady said the team held their own. 鈥淲e were undersized throughout,鈥� said Brady. 鈥淚t鈥檚 high school guys playing men. They are stronger and play the game differently. 鈥淭he more physical style is hard to replicate but we held our own. The offence was good and we moved the ball well. I think we averaged 85 points a game.鈥� Brady said playing in Lights Out gave the coaches and athletes a good look at where they are at . As wewll, it helped build consistency. Also, it allowed him to see the necessary adjustments to make before the Games begin. 鈥淥ur system was good, just a few tweaks,鈥� said Brady. 鈥淥n defence, there are a few things to work on to help us. On offence, we need to work on inbounds plays and early shot clock possession.鈥� In the boys鈥� championship game, the Rams outlasted the Crusaders 63-54. On the girls鈥� side, fans were treated to a closely contested match. The Warriors defeated Vanier by four, 48-44. Big Bigness secured the Lights Out men鈥檚 title over AK Sport Shop 92-78, in an entertaining game as described by Fordham. In the women鈥檚 final, Strathcona nearly doubled up the Whitehorse All-Stars 94-56. For the women鈥檚 final, Fordham said an all-麻豆社区team of Yukon and Alaskan women were put together to face the 鈥渋ncredible鈥� Strathcona team.