OUTLOOK - The LCBI Bisons basketball team is looking at a chance to take provincial championship glory this coming weekend.
The school has five provincial basketball championships to their name, as well as nine silver medals and eight bronze medals. This coming weekend, the goal is to capture trophy number six.
The boys team travelled to Davidson over March 14 & 15 in 2A Boys Regionals action to see which teams would advance to the yearly HOOPLA Provincial Basketball Championship. In LCBI's first game on Friday against Eston, the team was successful in a hard-fought game at a score of 71-57.
The next day, the Bisons found themselves squared up against the hosting Davidson Raiders, with the game making for some dramatic flair in seeing which roster would be provincials-bound. Maintaining a tight lead, LCBI managed to stay ahead and by the time the final buzzer sounded, the Bisons were Regionals champs and are now HOOPLA-bound, upsetting the Raiders by a close score of 76-68.
On the girls' side of the court, the LCBI Lady Bisons tried their best in their own 2A Girls Regionals action, playing in Norquay on March 14 & 15. Though the girls bested the roster from Waldheim at a score of 69-50 on Friday, they were defeated by the hosting Norquay team on Saturday at a score of 74-38. Not letting the loss get them down, the girls watched online as the boys defeated Davidson and forged their own road to HOOPLA this coming weekend.
It's a return to the provincial stage for LCBI following last year's modified version of HOOPLA, which was retooled and overseen by a dedicated team of parents and volunteers as the original championship weekend was cancelled in light of tension and back-and-forth talks between the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation and the provincial government, who were locked in a labour dispute.
Hosted in Saskatoon this year, HOOPLA 2025 kicks off on Thursday, March 20 and wraps on Saturday.
The game schedule released on Monday afternoon showed that the first game for the Bisons is Friday at 2:30, playing in 2A action against St. Brieux at Centennial Collegiate. If LCBI loses that game, they'll play in the 3rd Place game on Saturday at 1:00 at Marion Graham Collegaite. However, if the Bisons win their first game on Friday, they'll move on to the Final, which will be played on Saturday at 5:00 at Marion Graham Collegiate.
Best of luck to all the athletes taking part in this year's HOOPLA Provincial Championship.
