With standing room only at Ashmont Elementary gym on Saturday, the host school went on to win the Northeast zones senior boys 1A basketball championship by defeated Glendon in the final.
“We came out strong and just never looked back,” said coach Jorge Silva after the game. A few more senior players on the team and a height advantage worked in the team’s favour, he said, adding that the game was great.
The large attendance in the gym pumped the team up for the game, he added. The win marks the second year the team won the St. Paul Athletic Association league championship.
The Ashmont Falcons swept the final against Glendon, winning 100 – 54. Both teams will compete in provincials this week in Calgary. Ashmont is ranked fourth going into the provincials.
In the first game of the zones was Ashmont defeated Smokey Lake. In semi-finals Ashmont won over Mallaig 119-45.
Glendon’s goal was to make the provincials, said coach Daryn Galatiuk. Glendon won its first match against Marwayne by 60 points, and its second match against Vilna by about 30 points, he said.
“We knew that the last game was going to be tough,” he said. Winning the semi-final game confirmed the team’s place at the provincials, marking the team’s sixth year of making it to the provincial competition.
“They were very excited after the semi-final game to know that we made it to the show, and that was the ultimate goal this year,” he said.
The team sits at seventh place overall.
The Mallaig Stingers took third in the tournament after defeating St. Jeromes.
In senior girls SPAA finals, Sandra Lysy’s team from Glendon came home with the big win from Glendon. After getting a buy in the first round, Glendon defeated Marwayne by one point, scoring the winning basket with three seconds left up on the clock and winning 34-33.
Glendon defeated Paradise Valley 59-37 in the finals to take the league championship and a spot at provincials.
