Three local teams headed to Prince Rupert last weekend to take part in the 52nd Annual All Native Basketball tournament that kicked off on Sunday.
The event attracts thousands of spectators, players and coaches from all over the West Coast including teams from as far south as Vancouver and as far north as Metlakatla, Alaska.
There is a Senior Men’s team from Gitsegukla, an Intermediate team from Hazelton and a Women’s team from Kispiox all in attendance this year.
The week long event started on Sunday with the senior men’s division getting underway which saw Gitsegukla fall 46-75 to Port Simpson. The loss found them taking on Kincolith on Monday. The men’s semi-finals will be held on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m with the final game starting at 7:30 p.m. There are a total of 15 teams in their division and the competition is said to be diverse and intense.
The Intermediate division started Monday with Hazelton facing off against Bella Bella and their semi-finals will get under way Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and the final game will be at 6 p.m. There are team from Vancouver, Kitkatla, Metlakatla, Skidegate, Massett, Canyon City, Port Simpson, Kincolith, Hartley Bay and the North Shore.
The women’s division has 12 teams competing and they started on Monday as well where Kispiox took on Simpew at 2:30. Their semi-finals will be held on Friday at 2: 30 p.m. with the finals at 1 p.m. Saturday.
For more information or to find out results, there is a group page on Facebook as well as www.thenorthernview.com is posting the results on their website. The Interior News will have the whole story next week.