On Feb. 10, more than 50 Indigenous teams from across B.C., to Hydaburg, Alaska, travelled to Prince Rupert for the All Native Basketball Tournament. More than 100 Lax Kw’alaams members opened the ceremonies. Dancers wore carved cedar masks, button blankets, tunics and dresses. They played drums, blew into conch shells, and used mussel shells as rattlers.
The Nuxalk Nation had three teams entered in the tournament: an intermediate, womens, and a senior mens team. The teams played hard and represented their Nation with pride.
The Nuxalk Womens Team advanced to the third round before losing to Similkameen. Similkameen went on to play in the final round and placed second in the tournament.
The Intermediate Team advanced to the second round before losing to New Aiyansh. The Mens Team lost to Masset in the third round.
The tournament wasn’t without political action. Entire teams dressed in T-shirts with “Wet’suwet’en Strong” printed on the front and “Unceded” on the back. Some players held signs reading “We stand with Wet’suwet’en” as they paraded through the court.
In the final games Kitamaat defeated Similkameen in the Womens Division, in Masters: Hydaburg won beating Lax Kw’alaams in the final, in Seniors: Kitkatla won beating Vancouver in the final, and in Intermediate: Skidegate won beating Prince Rupert in the final.
Budding superstar and Nuxalk youth Marlon Edgar-Apps was exceptional playing for his adopted hometown of Vancouver in the final game against Kitkatla. Edgar-Apps led his team throughout the tournament, racking up hardware along the way and finishing as the tournaments most outstanding and most inspirational player. He took the crown for highest scorer at the tournament, racking up 198 points in his eight games played.
At times the final game seemed to be a private match between tournament MVP Jacob Thom of Kitkatla and Edgar-Apps. It was the Thom and Edgar show, as All-Star Thom and Edgar-Apps went toe-to-toe.
It was as if Edgar-Apps had put it on his 18-year-old self to bring his team back into the game as he and Thom went back and forth exchanging three-pointer after three-pointer.
After the game, when asked about the young star in the making, Thom could only say what was on everybody’s mind.
“Man, that kid can ball. I had a couple open looks, fortunately, I hit them because Mar’ was coming back at me on the other end, so hats off to him,” Thom said.
Clearly, the respect was mutual, as Edgar-Apps knows he wasn’t guarding any regular basketball player.
“I tried my best to contain Jacob, I was just hoping my shots would fall. He is a killer, one of a kind for sure,” Edgar-Apps said.
The tournament wrapped up on Saturday, February 16.
