Getting to playoffs is one goal the St. Augustine Catholic School Kings basketball team is not letting go of.
The road to playoffs hasn’t hit a road block yet for the Kings who managed to defeat the Pigeon Lake Panthers Feb. 1 at home and then at Innisfail winning the next day.
The win against the Panthers was needed.
“In order to hit the post-season we needed that win. It was a make or break game for us,” said coach Adam Bowie of the results.
A win wasn’t a sure thing for the Kings who were down by a few points after the half. Bowie urged the team to stick with its game plan.
“We pushed the ball and set the bar to make them play at our level,” said Bowie. “Not necessarily the other way around.”
That seemed to work with the Kings keeping control of the ball on both sides of the court and not giving up on rebounds. “Stuff wasn’t falling for us on offense.”
“We had layup after layup and there was a lid on the basket.”
Despite those challenges the players pushed for control of the ball at all times. “I think we were playing them for 40 minutes.”
Kings player Aaron Perez takes a foul and still goes for the shot Feb. 1 against the Pigeon Lake Panthers. The Kings won their game and their next game against Innisfail keeping them in for the runnings for playoffs.
The only major adjustment the team made, says Bowie, is in the press after the half. That and a strong defensive strategy played throughout the game, something players have been working on during practice.
“We’ve been working all season playing a full 40 minutes,” said Bowie.
When asked about having a game MVP, Bowie said there are several players that helped ensure the Kings play well and he couldn’t lock it down on one player. Indeed, substitute players jumped on to the court creating little game-time lag, which helped them overall.
“The boys know how important these next games are,” said Bowie.
The team to beat in the league is Central Alberta Christian High School, which is playing well in the league.
The Kings next game is tonight at 6 p.m. against Ermineskin.
The Queens did not have such luck playing against the number one ranked Panthers girls team. They lost by a wide margin to the Panthers.