Neither of the Panthers teams came away with trophies, but the first annual Eagles’ Perch tournament was a success for Merritt Secondary nonetheless, said the school’s vice principal and athletic director.
The 16-team tournament, played across two days and two venues (NVIT and MSS), went off without a hitch, said Gian Cavaliere.
The only hiccup from an organizational standpoint came just before the tournament was set to begin, as one of the visiting teams expressed concern about the travel conditions heading into Merritt, said Cavaliere.
“Thankfully, they emailed me back a couple hours later saying they got the okay to go, so that was nice,” he said.
With eight teams in both the boys and the girls divisions, Merritt’s squads had the chance to test their mettle against teams from Revelstoke, Kelowna, Kamloops and Hope.
On the boys’ side, Merritt’s plucky team managed to secure a win in the final game of the tournament. The victory over Kelowna’s Immaculata Secondary put the Panthers in seventh overall in the final standings.
“I am very proud of the community of Merritt and particularly NVIT. I spoke with many coaches and kids and they said the hospitality they were shown by local businesses and NVIT was exceptional,” said Leroy Slanzi, coach of the Grade 8 boys team. “We would like to get to a point where we are hosting three 16 team tournaments a year and we will need the community and they will need us because it brings in a lot of people to Merritt.”
Ceremonial drummers from Central Elementary performed before tip off of the first game of the tournament, which featured Merritt’s Grade 8 boys against a team from Princeton. (Cole Wagner/Herald).
Meanwhile in the girls’ draw, Merritt faced off against St. Ann’s for fifth spot. Though the girls’ came up short, their performance earlier in the tournament secured a sixth overall finish.
“I am just very proud of the girls and how far they have come from the beginning of the season,” said coach Morgan Fosbery.
A raucous crowd of students from Central Elementary helped ring in the tournament’s opening game between MSS and Princeton.
“I tell ya, we haven’t had a crowd that loud in a long time,” said Cavaliere. “That was really exciting to see.”
One of the goals of hosting a basketball tournament in the Nicola Valley was to reinvigorate the program at Merritt Secondary School, explained Cavaliere. By inviting the elementary students to the opening game, he said he hoped he could cultivate an interest in basketball among next year’s freshmen.
Teams from Kamloops ultimately claimed top spots, as Sa-Hali Secondary prevailed among the boys and Brock was crowned champions on the girls’ side.
The success of the Grade 8 tournament has convinced Cavaliere to bring it back again next year. But the athletic director doesn’t want to stop at one tournament — eventually, he envisions tournaments for Grade 8s, juniors and senior players taking place in the Nicola Valley.
