The 3A Edmonton zone double elimination basketball tournament tipped off Tuesday for the St. Albert Skyhawks at the SkyDome.
The Skyhawks (33-1), seeded first in the women’s draw, played eighth-seeded Leduc and the men’s team (18-13), seeded second, was challenged by St. Peter the Apostle, the seventh seeds and host team for the March 14 to 16 provincials in Spruce Grove. Scores were unavailable at press time.
If victorious, both teams will host today’s semifinals at 4:45 p.m. for the men against Leduc or Eastglen and 6:15 p.m. for the women against Holy Trinity or Louis St. Laurent.
The finals are Thursday for the first provincial berth and Saturday for the second berth.
The women’s provincials are March 14 to 16 in Strathmore. Last year the lady Skyhawks won their won their sixth-straight zone title, en route to a historic third 3A championship in a row at their eighth-consecutive provincials.
The men’s team finished fifth at provincials as the second Edmonton zone qualifier. It was their first trip to provincials in 15 years.
The SAPEC playoffs in junior high basketball wrap up Friday at the SkyDome.
The Tier 1 city finals are 6 p.m. for the girls and 8 p.m. for the boys.
The top two teams in league play this season were the Sir George Simpson Voyageurs (7-0) and 2012 champion Vincent J. Maloney Marauders (6-1) for the girls and the Lorne Akins Gators (7-0) and Maloney (6-1) for the boys.
The Dieter Knobloch Memorial Adult Tournament kicks off 7 p.m. Friday and ends Sunday afternoon at Servus Credit Union Place.
The tournament features two co-ed divisions of four and six teams, an eight-team women’s division and a four-team classics division.
The tournament is held in honour of Dieter Knobloch, a life member and one of the initial founders of the St. Albert Soccer Association who died in the summer of 2010 after a 10-year battle with cancer.
In 2011 the annual Big Rock adult outdoor tournament was renamed in Knobloch’s memory and this year it was changed to an indoor event because of reclamation work and outdoor facility enhancement at the SASA fields at Riel Recreation Park.
