The Central Cyclones and Peacock Toilers have had Saturday, March 23 circled on their calendars for a very long time.
As two of the top 4A boys basketball teams year in and year out, both Moose Jaw crews were looking forward to having a chance to play for provincial gold on the final day of Hoopla 2024 if everything played out as expected for the top seeds.
And while they won’t be playing a full tournament, that showdown is now set in stone.
One game on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Sask Polytechnic for all the marbles.
“The guys are definitely excited about it,” said Central coach Barry Seaborn. “We’re a little under-prepared since we haven’t been able to practice and that’s been the tough part, but Peacock is in the same boat and we’re just happy to have a chance to play the game.”
As one might expect, Toilers head coach Troy Setter was of much the same opinion.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s not the full Hoopla, but it’s closure for all the athletes who are here and that’s the biggest thing. Then we’re lucky enough to get the two seed and play for gold and that shows our hard work all season paid off.”
The Cyclones will technically be the favourite in the contest, having gone 2-1 against Peacock this season and holding down the top seed in the province. That includes an early-season 94-34 victory when while the Toilers were recovering from a spate of injuries as well as a buzzer-beater victory over Peacock to win the Moose Jaw tournament.
The Toilers have the most recent bragging rights, though, having taken a 111-105 win in the final regular season meeting between the teams.
That makes Saturday’s match-up as interesting as can be, with the outcome largely predicated on who can get a handle on the Sask Polytech atmosphere the fastest.
“If both of the teams are playing up to their capabilities, it should be an exciting game,” Setter said. “They beat us once at the buzzer and another one was a couple possession game where we were able to win. So it should be a good game, it’s probably going to come down to whichever team makes the fewest mistakes and I’m expecting it’ll be a really tough battle.”
While both teams and coaches are incredibly familiar with one another, neither crew is expecting a standard approach from their opponent.
“We know each others’ strengths and Troy always pulls some things out of the hat, he always has some new wrinkle to add,” Seaborn said. “We have some new things we’re trying, too, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.”
Just the fact they’re playing the game at all is an incredible positive given how close things were to being cancelled outright. Job action by the STF prevented extracurricular activities on Thursday and Friday, leading to the main Hoopla tournament being cancelled. Organizers were able to get things together at the last minute though, leading to the one-game showdowns across the board on Saturday.
All told, 48 teams from all over the province will be playing for gold and bronze at gyms all over Moose Jaw.
“I’m just happy for all the kids who get to play,” Seaborn said. “The fact they pulled this together is amazing, the SHSAA, the teachers, everyone, we’re very thankful. I was resigned to the fact we weren’t playing and I’m happy we are, and you just have to look at the work that’s gone into it. They pulled it all off in a couple days, and kudos to them. We just have to play the game, they did all the hard work.”
Setter agreed completely.
“We are very thankful for the SHSAA stepping up and making this work,” he said. “The positive impact this will have on the kids is incredible.”
Check out the full schedule below for all the games taking place Saturday afternoon!
