The Skeena Jr. Boys team has ended its winning season by taking the zone title.Coached by Joe Domingues and Brian Demedeiros, the Skeena Jr. Boys team went to Kitimat for zones Feb. 18 to 19.The boys opened up strongly on Friday against Mount Elizabeth Secondary School where, despite the other team’s home court advantage, they dominated with a 81-30 victory.The Wildcats ran into some trouble in Game 2 later that evening against the Rupert Rainmakers. After controlling most of the game, the Rainmakers came back in the last two minutes and won by two points.This would force the team to get into the finals through the back door.It was at this point coach Domingues said the team began to get nervous as the Rainmakers were celebrating as if they had already won.Saturday’s games for the team opened up against Thornhill Junior Secondary, where the Wildcats won by 12 points, a score Domingues said is normally much higher when this team plays the Timberwolves.However, the Wildcats showed their true colours as they rallied for the zone win, which required back-to-back defeats against the Rainmakers – something the team managed to do.“Somehow we convinced the boys they were not tired,” Domingues said, speaking about half time in the last game when exhaustion was kicking in for the players.“It showed character for kids at that age,” Domingues said of the last two games. “Their backs were against the wall and they showed they had it in them when adversity came.”MVP went to Marcus Mackay and all-star awards to Brennan Jay and Patrick Kurek.All in all, it was a very strong season for the team, who went undefeated in the regular season against any team in the level.The Wildcats are heading to provincials in Victoria March 2 to 5.

Terrace Standard