Some of the best senior boys high school basketball talent in the province and the United States will once again take over the Abbotsford Senior Secondary gym next week.
The 57th annual Snowball Classic basketball tournament tips off on Jan. 11, with the tournament champions crowned on Jan. 14.
A total of 12 teams battle it out at the event, including local teams the Abbotsford Panthers, MEI Eagles, Yale Lions and Bateman Timberwolves.
Yale is an honourable mention in the current AAAA rankings, while the Eagles are ranked ninth and the Timberwolves are ranked 10th in the current AAA rankings.
Other teams participating from BC include Sardis, Brentwood, Killarney and Burnaby South.
The number one, number two and number five ranked AAAA teams in the province are also attending, as Langley’s Walnut Grove Gators, last year’s runnerup the Kelowna Owls and Vancouver’s St. George’s Saints all come to town.
Tournament organizers have again welcomed a top team from the United States, and this year’s guests from south of the border are California’s Rolling Hills Prep high school.
It will be the first ever Snowball Classic appearance for the Rolling Hills Prep Huskies, but they are coached by Harvey Kitani, who in the past brought Fairfax High School basketball teams to Abbotsford. Tournament organizers announced that the Fairfax team will return in 2018.
The Mount Vernon Knights from New York defeated Kelowna 104-87 in last year’s final to capture the tournament championship.
The event kicks off on Jan. 11, when the host Panthers battle Sardis at 12:30 p.m. MEI, Yale and Bateman all open the tournament on Jan. 12.
The championship game occurs on Jan. 14 at 8 p.m.
For more information on the tournament, visit facebook.com/snowballtournament.
