Alberni District Secondary School kicked off the 65th annual Totem tournament with a pair of wins against the Kwalikum Secondary Kondors.
The Armada Senior Boys opened the tournament Thursday evening (Jan. 9) with an 83-60 win over Kwalikum. Alberni’s Chris Tatoosh and Kwalikum’s Braeden Leary were named the players of the game.
This was the first time in the season that the two teams have met, said ADSS head coach Craig Brooks.
“We’ve been watching their stats online,” said Brooks. “We had to do a little bit of guessing. I think we guessed right, for the most part.”
Despite a slow start to the year, the Armada boys have won five of their last six games. Brooks said the players had a bit of nerves coming into Totem, but warmed up quickly.
“I think they realized that it’s just another basketball game,” he said.
Every Armada player that dressed for the game was able to get some time on the court. In the last minutes of the game, Ethan Eyford netted his first basket of the season and the ADSS bench exploded into cheers. Eyford is new to organized basketball this year, explained Brooks.
“He’s managed to get on the score sheet in every other way,” said Brooks. “To get his first one at Totem…that was pretty special.”
Getting that first win of the tournament, added Brooks, was also special. The goal now is to stay on the winning side of the draw. Tomorrow night, the Armada boys will face the winners of the Carihi vs. Edward Milne game at 7 p.m. at the ADSS Gym.
But the boys have some extra motivation—Brooks has promised that he’ll let them shave his head if they make it to the championship game.
“The first [game] is always important,” he added.
The ADSS Senior Girls also faced Kwalikum on Thursday and finished their game with a resounding 64-29 win. The girls will face the winners of the Highland vs. St. Patrick game at ADSS on Friday at 5:15 p.m.
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