Raiders’ offence propels defence
Rural hosting Confederation Classic beginning today
The Charlottetown Rural Raiders are looking to get out and run.
The boys’ basketball coach wants his team to be active on defence to help provide some easy baskets on the other end of the court.
“I think that’s when we play our best, when our defence is active and we’re creating offence out of our defence,” Trent Whitty said Tuesday.
The team will look to use that style tonight when it opens play at the 35th Confederation City Classic. They host the Bluefield Bobcats at 7 p.m.
The Rural girls’ team is also playing the Colonel Gray Colonels tonight at 5:30 p.m. in a game that was moved from Thursday due to the winter storm forecasted for this week. There are 20 teams (10 boys and 10 girls) competing in the tournament. More on the girls’ tournament in tomorrow’s edition of The Guardian.
Whitty said the Confederation City Classic provides an opportunity to play teams they don’t regularly see. The Raiders meet Riverview from Cape Breton on Thursday and Amherst, N.S., on Friday.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on the court after the (Christmas) break and hopefully play well, that’s the main thing,” Whitty said. “If you can win the first one, you’re setting yourself up pretty good for later on. If you lose the first one, it doesn’t mean you can’t win, it just means you’re in a bit of a hole that you have to
get out of.”
Whitty and his coaching staff will rely on a quartet of Grade 12 players to lead the way and provide veteran leadership in their third Confederation City Classic. Those players are Zack Wall, Josh Bourque, Louis Monaghan and Gabe Penalver.
The Raiders have had a good
first half of the season despite dealing with injuries and sickness.
Grade 11 Parker Roche sustained a hairline fractured of a bone in his leg at the first of the season. He continues to progress and could be ready to rejoin the team at the end of the month.