It鈥檚 that time of year again for warm gyms on cool nights as the ritual dance of high school basketball begins anew.
It does so in Island boys鈥� quadruple-A with the Belmont Bulldogs given the best shot of knocking off the provincially third-ranked Oak Bay Bays. The Bulldogs began their quest Tuesday night with the league opener at Mount Douglas against the host Rams.
鈥淚f we keep working together we think we can challenge,鈥� said Belmont co-captain Lucas Gage.
The omission of coach Kevin Brown鈥檚 Belmont squad from even receiving an honourable mention in the pre-season sa国际传媒 top-10 poll surprised some. But that doesn鈥檛 concern the Bulldogs. And they should be cited soon enough, predicted Mount Douglas co-coach Chris Ball. That was attested by the Bulldogs鈥� 87-60 victory over the Rams on Tuesday.
鈥淲e have a veteran core in the starting lineup and good, young players off the bench,鈥� said Bulldogs co-captain Julius Kennedy.
鈥淲e take it one week at a time right now. We just play hoops.鈥�
And pretty well, by the looks of it.
Mount Douglas, meanwhile, answers with sa国际传媒 U-15 team player Matthew Geng. You read that right. The national chess champion is in Grade 11 but skipped a grade, so is basically a Grade 10 kid who looks to be one of the top stories in Island high school hoops.
鈥淥ur mental game and team chemistry will be the keys to our season,鈥� said Geng.
Without injured six-foot-six Rams football left tackle Phil Grohovac, who is a candidate to play U Sports at the university gridiron level, the Rams鈥� approach changed drastically. With Grohovac鈥檚 ample presence missing in the middle, Geng鈥檚 perimeter game becomes even more predominant. But this remains a team capable of springing a surprise or two under the tutelage of co-coaches Ball and Josh Clouthier. Their team should have some astute chess-like moves, quite literally. Not only is Geng a national champion but Rams teammate Jason Chow was also world chess champion at 13 in the age-group level. Nobody is going to outthink the Rams, that鈥檚 for sure.
In the Sportvictoria.com pre-season quadruple-A rankings, Oak Bay and Belmont are 1-2 followed by Claremont, Nanaimo, Dover Bay, Cowichan, Mount Douglas and Spectrum. In triple-A, provincial top-10 Wellington is top-ranked on the Island, followed in order by Mark Isfeld, Carihi, Vanier, Barsby, Vic High, Royal Bay, Esquimalt, Reynolds and Alberni.
Provincially top-ranked Brentwood College is rated tops in an Island double-A top-five that includes Shawnigan Lake, Lambrick Park, SMUS and Gulf Islands. GNS is provincially top-ranked in single-A.
The girls鈥� high school hoops season also opens this week, but the highlight is the annual Victoria Christmas Tournament on Friday and Saturday in gyms around the region, and featuring sa国际传媒 top-10 ranked Oak Bay, Claremont and SMUS mixing it up against powerhouse programs from around sa国际传媒 and Alberta.
