The Alberni District Secondary School Armada senior boys basketball team is primed and ready to repeat as Totem champions this weekend.
The Armada opens in a game against Woodlands Secondary on Friday afternoon. “I feel we’ll be competitive. The boys understand their individual roles and that will make us a successful team,” head coach Neelam Parmar said.
Other teams playing in the boys division include Parkland Secondary, Edward Milne, Reynolds Secondary and Stelly’s.
The Armada’s last action was a 57-30 win against Kwalicum Senior Secondary in December.
It’s been all business once back to school though. The team has been focussing on ball control, and for good reason. In eight games so far the Armada averaged 26 turnovers.
“That is about twice too many if we want to compete against the top teams,” Parmar said. “The boys have had to play extra hard to overcome those turnovers.”
Despite turnovers the team is 5-3 this season in tournament and exhibition games. “Out of our three losses, we were in two of them to the end of the game,” Parmar said.
The Armada is a different team this year. Gone are guards Josh Kurucz and Brayden Kirschner. But the team is bigger than 2013 and the post players can also play on the perimeter.
“Grade 11 Sam Moncur will catch everyone’s attention for his scoring touch and Luke Bradley for his overall athleticism,” Parmar said.
Edward Milne is the team to beat at Totem, he said. “They are a big strong team physically with a quick athletic forward who can score.”
Winning Totem will take patience on offence. The team likes to score early in possessions which leads to turnovers and aggression on defence. “We should be very competitive in every match and have the potential to make the finals,” he said.
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