The 10th annual Boston Pizza SAPEC Invitational Junior High Basketball Tournament tips off Thursday at 4 p.m. in St. Albert.
The winning teams in the opening draw advance into the A division and the losing teams compete in the B division.
Saturday’s finals at Vincent J. Maloney School are 1 p.m. for the girls and 2:15 p.m. for the boys in the B division and 3:30 p.m. for the girls and 4:45 p.m. for the boys in the A division.
Games will also be played at Sir George Simpson, Lorne Akins, Richard S. Fowler and Vincent J. Maloney throughout the three-day competition.
The tournament features 16 girls’ and 16 boys’ teams. Local teams include the Elmer S. Gish Warriors, ESSMY Leopards, Lorne Akins Gators, Richard S. Fowler Falcons, Sir George Simpson Voyageurs, Vincent J. Maloney Marauders, William D. Cuts Crusaders, Morinville Wolves, Camilla Thunderbirds and Sturgeon Heights Eagles.
Last year the lady Marauders repeated as tournament champions for their third title in six years and St. Thomas Aquinas of Spruce Grove beat the Marauders by 10 points in the boys’ final.
Meanwhile, the SAPEC regular season starts Jan. 15. The lady Marauders and Fowler boys are the defending champions.
The Paul Kane Blues host the St. Francis Xavier Rams today in a metro Edmonton premier conference basketball doubleheader.
Game times are 4:45 p.m. for the women and 6:15 for the men at Paul Kane High School.
The Rams are second at 4-2 and the Blues are sixth at 1-4 in the women’s standings. In the men’s conference the Rams are first overall at 5-0 as the No. 4-ranked 4A team in the province and the Blues, the two-time defending premier champions, are 2-3.
Thursday the lady Blues host the O’Leary Spartans at 4:45 p.m. The Spartans, ranked eighth in 4A, are tied for third at 3-2.
Thursday the St. Albert Sabres play the 2012 provincial champion SSAC Southgate Lions in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
Faceoff is 8 p.m. at Millwoods Arena.
In the nitro north division the first-place Lions are 22-0-2 and the Sabres are fifth at 6-13-6.
The Sabres improved to 3-1-2 under new head coach Norm Lacombe in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Spruce Grove Saints at Akinsdale Arena.
Sabres netminder Joshua Dechaine stopped a game-high 38 shots, including 16 in the third period. The Sabres rallied from a 2-0 deficit on goals by Dylan Huot and Jaedon Leslie in the second and captain Joshua Mahura and Huot in the third. Ryan Cox added two assists against the 9-11-4 Saints.
