The opening game for the Paul Kane Blues at the 4A provincial men’s basketball tournament goes Thursday against the LCI Rams of Lethbridge. Tip-off is 2 p.m. at NAIT.
The Blues are seeded eighth and the Rams are ninth in the 16-team draw.
Last month at the Western Canada Redmen tournament in Calgary, the Blues beat the Rams 93-79 for third place.
Thursday’s winner advances into the championship bracket and the loser goes into the consolation round.
If the Blues are victorious, they would play the number-one seeded Raymond Comets or the 16th-seeded Westwood Trojans of Fort McMurray at 9 a.m. Friday at Ross Sheppard High School.
A loss would send the metro Edmonton premier champions into Friday’s 3 p.m. match against Raymond or Westwood at Edmonton Christian School.
In the Edmonton zone playdowns, the Blues finished third after losses of 90-68 against the public league champion Harry Ainlay Titans, seeded second at provincials, and 87-72 to the fifth-seeded Jasper Place Rebels.
The Blues are 28-11 going into provincials.
The Paul Kane Blues finished the season one win short of qualifying for the 4A provincial women’s basketball tournament.
The metro Edmonton premier finalists went down to defeat 70-51 to the Harry Ainlay Titans at The King’s University College in Saturday’s playoff to determine the fourth and last Edmonton zone rep at provincials.
The zone playdowns started with a 63-57 loss to the Titans at Paul Kane, followed by a 64-57 win against the Archbishop Jordan Scots in Edmonton.
Grade 12 forward Allie Larson was the top scorer in both losses against the Titans.
Lewis Biamonte of the Bellerose Bulldogs was awarded silver at the high school provincial wrestling championships last weekend at Memorial Composite High School in Stony Plain.
In the 98-kilogram division, the Grade 12 football player suffered a second round defeat to Nick Proctor from the Crescent Heights Cowboys in Calgary. Proctor is the reigning provincial and national champion.
The weight category featured 13 grapplers.
Last year Biamonte finished sixth out of 12 wrestlers at provincials in the 90 kg class.
The Bulldogs were represented by five females and seven males at the 2011 provincials. Biamonte qualified as the Edmonton zone 98 kg champion.
He for is scheduled to compete in the Alberta Open Wrestling Championships this weekend in Edson.
