As far as safe bets go 鈥� not that you can gamble on high school sports 鈥� the odds are heavily in the Oak Bay Breakers鈥� favour as they head up to Dover Bay for the Island triple-A senior girls basketball championship.
Ranked top five provinicially (having slipped from as high as No. 2 due to the injury of post player Lauren Yearwood), the Breakers are expected to seal the top Island rating at the eight-team tournament that begins with Oak Bay facing Spectrum at 3:15 p.m. today in Nanaimo.
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to get healthy and play better,鈥� said Breakers鈥� coach Rob Kinnear. 鈥淟auren has been out with a sprained ankle, but she鈥檚 back and hopes to play this weekend.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost been one of those situations where she鈥檚 such a great player that, not having her, forced everyone else to step up a bit, so some of our other players are playing their best ball right now, which is nice.鈥�
Unless you鈥檙e the opponent.
鈥淥ak Bay is the cream of the crop,鈥� said Shawn Dheensaw, coach of the Claremont Spartans, the No. 2-ranked team in the South. 鈥淚鈥檝e said it before, 鈥楴o one will touch them.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know much about the up-Island teams, but I would expect Oak Bay and, it could be ourselves or Vanier, in the final.鈥�
Dover Bay will draw Mount Douglas in Game 2 today at 5 p.m., followed by Vanier and Stelly鈥檚 at 6:45 p.m. and Claremont versus Alberni at 8:30 p.m.
The semifinals will go Friday at 6:45 and 8:30 p.m., with the victors playing for the championship final on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The top two teams will advance to the provincial championship tournament in Langley two weeks later. The third-place team will have a shot at a play-in game early next week.
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