HRH Senior basketball champions
The The Holy Redeemer Basketball Program continued their strong tradition of success and dominance in the region after the Senior Men’s team captured the gold medal and the Senior Girls won bronze at the annual Zone Championship.
“Everyone is so proud of these teams,” says HRH Athletic Team Lead and Senior Men’s Head Coach Peter Saik. “Both teams continued to work together as a team to improve each and every game and we saw the reward of this hard work at Zones.”
The Men’s Rebels team was ranked second in the Zone entering the championship weekend on March 9th and 10th in Edson. The Rebels won their first game against Jasper and then defeated the third ranked team from Mayerthorpe before heading the gold medal game.
And the final game was one for the record books as it was an all Edson final: the Holy Redeemer Rebels squaring off against the first ranked Parkland Pacers. The gymnasium was packed with tons of supporters from both teams.
Early on the score was tight as both teams were equally matched. The score was close at half time and one wrong bounce could tip the score in either team’s favour. Then, in the third quarter the excellent training and endurance that the Rebels athletes had worked on all season came in handy as they began to pull away. The Rebels also hit an impressive nine 3-pointers in the second half. By the end of the game, HRH had a solid ten-point lead and won the game by a score of 72-62.
Some of the key players included Justin Breault and Shawn Rogers who powered the offence with 23 points each, and Brian Birkenhagen and Neil Korolischuk owned the glass back board with a combined 28 rebounds. “In the end, it was a solid team effort,”says Saik. “The continuous 6:15 am workouts we held all season long really paid off. Our school could not be any prouder.”
The Men’s team has now won their fifth Zone Championship and has clinched their sixth consecutive provincials berth. This year, the Rebels head to Willow Creek for the Provincial Championship.
The Senior Girls also had an amazing season topped off by a bronze medal at the Zone Championship.“I certainly see big things in the next couple of years for our team,” says Head Coach Christine Chase.“The entire team fought hard all year and should be very proud of their work.”
The Girls team defeated Whitecourt in the bronze medal game by a score of 70-58 ending their 2018 season on a high note.
Looking at the success of these two teams, combined with the excellent work from the JV Boys team and all the junior teams, the Rebels basketball program is in great hands.