‘The guys are excited’
Sydney Academy Wildcats hosting six-team high school basketball tournament
Local basketball fans will have an opportunity to watch entertaining high school basketball action this weekend in Sydney.
The Sydney Academy Wildcats will host a six-team invitational tournament, beginning today, at the Sydney Academy Gym.
Joining the Wildcats are local representatives the Breton Education Centre Bears and Riverview Royals. Defending Division 1 provincial champion Auburn Drive Eagles of Cole Harbour, Northumberland Nighthawks of Westville and North Nova Gryphons of New Glasgow will also participate in the event.
“The guys are excited to be hosting and it will be some of the best high school players on display,” said Wildcats head coach Jonathan Penny.
“Anyone who caught some of the provincial tournament hosted by Sydney Academy this past season, this will be the closest thing to that level of play you will see locally.”
Sydney Academy enters the two-day tournament with a 3-1 record in the Cape Breton High School Basketball League.
The Wildcats have a number of new faces in their lineup this
season, this after the program graduated eight players from last year’s team, which posted a 30-4 record.
The Sydney squad has three Grade 12s in its lineup this year, along with six Grade 11s and three Grade 9s.
“We’re small but very athletic and (we) work hard,” said Penny, whose has coached the Sydney Academy program for 14 years.
“We’re looking at just improving and playing with some freedom, executing what we have been working on in practice and hopefully that will put us in a position to cross
over and get to the championship.”
Penny considers the Wildcats’ biggest strength to be the club’s compete level.
“Our defense hasn’t been too bad, but we have struggled to score so far this season, especially when the game slows down,” said Penny. “That is expected with how early it is in our season and how new we are as a group.”
Sydney Academy will open the tournament against rival Breton Education Centre at 2 p.m. today, before facing Northumberland at 6 p.m.
“We will have to be great in
transition both on offense and defense,” said Penny of his expectations for the team. “We will need to have balanced scoring and strong defense to be successful against the strong competition.”
Other action today will see Riverview play North Nova at 4 p.m. The Royals will also play at 8 p.m. against Auburn Drive.
The tournament round robin will wrap up on Saturday morning with North Nova against Auburn Drive at 9 a.m., followed by Breton Education Centre versus Northumberland at 10:45 a.m.
The tournament semifinal
games are scheduled for Saturday at 12:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m., while the championship game is slated for 4:45 p.m.