But having beaten quarter-final opponent, the Douglas College Royals, twice in three previous matchups, it鈥檚 hard to call the Chargers the underdog heading into today鈥檚 6 p.m. clash in the six-team tournament, being held at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence.
鈥淚n our league this year, anybody in that tournament can win it,鈥� Westcott said. 鈥淜wantlen beat Quest two out of three and Quest beat Capilano twice, once in league and once in exhibition. Capilano is No. 1 in the league. VIU won two out of three with Cap, but lost all three to Douglas, so whoever happens to show up on that particular day has a chance.鈥�
The bottom line is, teams have to be at their best right from the opening tip-off.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to dig yourself a big hole off the start of a game,鈥� said Westcott. 鈥淵ou have to be ready to go.鈥�
The tournament opens with No. 4 Quest taking on No. 5 Kwantlen in women鈥檚 play at 1 p.m., followed by No. 4 Douglas facing No. 5 Capilano at 3 p.m. in men鈥檚 action.
Camosun then takes to the home floor with the women鈥檚 game at 6 p.m. followed by coach Scot Cuachon鈥檚 men鈥檚 Chargers (seeded No. 6 like the women) against Squamish-based and No. 3 Quest at 8 p.m.
Semifinals 鈥� in which top seeds Capilano and VIU, on the women鈥檚 side, and Langara and VIU in men鈥檚 are waiting in the wings 鈥� are set for Friday at 1, 3, 6 and 8 p.m. Medal games go at the same times on Saturday.
The Chargers men鈥檚 team also did not secure a spot in the championship until the final day.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 really thought about underdogs and favourites,鈥� said Cuachon. 鈥淲hen you look at the standings, then yes we are the underdogs, but the league has been extremely tight all year with teams winning and losing against teams that they shouldn鈥檛 have.
鈥淚f the season is any indication of what will happen at the championships, I suspect that we will see some upsets, hopefully in our favour.鈥�
THREE-POINTERS: Several Chargers were recognized on all-star teams. Jordan Elvedahl made the second team, while Kaz Kobayashi and Evan Woodson made the all-rookie team. Elyse Matthews and Ella Goldschmid were part of the first and second team all-stars respectively, while Melissa Van Dyk was named rookie of the year and an all-rookie team member. ... Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors, students and under-18 for today; those rise to $7 and $4 for semifinals and $10 and $5 for championship day. Under-12 and Camosun students are free. Game results and a live stream are available at pacwestbc.ca/basketball2013. . . . The Chargers鈥� men鈥檚 volleyball team won bronze at the Pacwest championship on Saturday, defeating Douglas College 3-2 (27-25, 25-16, 23-25, 19-25, 15-13).
