For 32 minutes Cariboo-North East scratched and clawed against a high-powered Fraser River squad but in the end, it wasn’t quite enough.
A pair of lengthy offensive runs in the second and fourth quarters propelled Fraser River to a 78-56 victory on Saturday in one of the two semi finals at the 2022 BC Summer Games from Duchess Park Secondary School.
The Surrey-based team will now play against Vancouver Island in tomorrow (Sunday) morning’s gold medal matchup (8am) while Cariboo North East is in the bronze medal match at 9:30 am against Thompson-Okanagan.
Earlier on in the day, Cariboo lost a chance to finish first in Pool A after dropping a 57-45 decision to Vancouver Island-Central Coast.
Despite the back-to-back losses, Cariboo North East head coach Nick Novak believes his team made some giant strides on the provincial stage.
“We are really happy to have made the semi-final and represent our city. We have a lot of good kids that are coming out and playing – a lot more than there were yesterday so it’s really good.”
“Our number one focus was to get better as a team. We wanted to improve and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about in this age group. It’s not about winning, even though you want to play for the gold medal but we are also happy to be good enough to play for the bronze.”
Novak believes the offensive tactics used by Fraser River set the tempo early on.
“They have a really smart coach who knows what he is doing. He is probably one of the best basketball brains I have ever picked. He really knows how to influence and dictate the game. We tried to prepare but there is only so much you can do with the time you have with the kids.”
Novak added the fan support every time they stepped on the court was nothing short of phenomenal.
“Yeah, it was great. We have a lot of players from different schools in our city and to get the school spirit out for our team has been really good.”
The 2022 BC Summer Games wrap up tomorrow with the closing ceremonies.
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