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Close games for Kings at Shine tournament

Eight teams came head to head during a weekend of basketball at the St. Augustine Senior Kings’ Shine tournament.
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Kings' Airon Balatbat sneaks a layup past a JV Camrose Trojans player Friday

Eight teams came head to head during a weekend of basketball at the St. Augustine Senior Kings’ Shine tournament, which started Friday, Feb. 19 and ended Saturday. For the Kings, the games were close with them team being able to come out on top in one of the three games.

Their first game against the JV Camrose Trojans was a spirited competition that set the tone of the tournament for the Kings. They lost 71-64, however, the margin doesn’t give a true picture of the game, which had the Kings trailing 32-30 at the end of the first half.

A supportive home crowd buoyed the Kings’ spirits who fought every inch of the court to stay close to the Trojans. Coach Adam Bowie said it was the fans who were their biggest strength over the course of the tournament.

“They helped us through every moment of our ups and downs. The fans were wonderful at being encouraging and supportive. They helped the boys maintain composure and energy,” explained Bowie in an email.

Adding to that support was a team that is performing better than when the season first began. Bowie said his team has come a long way since November.

The Trojans were an adept team that appeared rejuvenated after the first half. They were able to adjust their game to the Kings’ plays creating an eight-point lead for themselves by the end of the third quarter. This added pressure on the Kings in the last quarter.

Much of the fourth quarter showed the Kings clawing their way back to closing the gap. With two minutes left, the Kings were down 65-58. Extra effort dropped that deficit and with just under 40 seconds left, the score was 66-64 in favour of the Trojans. The Kings had a chance.

The team could not capitalize on the opportunity, however, and a few foul shots later the Trojans secured the win.

Intensity on the court is what Bowie suggests is a challenge for his team. “We have had stints and streaks of this happening and we have surprised a lot of teams in the second half of the season because of it. Their job is to try and create this communication and energy for 40 minutes.”

Bowie did add that he is pleased the team had strong games over the course of the weekend. Their second game was against Ermineskin where the Kings earned a solid win.

The consolation game was against Pigeon Lake which the Kings lost by 1o points. The Kings face Pigeon Lake again tonight (Wednesday) as a league fixture and need a win to make it to playoffs. Bowie expects their last season game against Pigeon Lake to be a good one as the Kings have won two of the last three games with them.

For next year, Bowie said he looks forward to what this team will be able to bring to the courts.

“We will have 12 returners next year as we are only losing three players. We have a very young team and most of the year has been learning how to play at this level and move with more continuity on offence and defence,” said Bowie looking to the future.