Ab SchAfter completely opposite weekends in Victoria, the Bears and Pandas hoops teams will each take on the Calgary Dinos in a one-game battle of Alberta to close out the first half of the season on Friday.
The Pandas basketball team rebounded nicely, earning back-to-back wins over the Victoria Vikes last weekend after suffering their first loss of the season against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Nov. 15. The Pandas came out of their bye-week with two dominant performances against the Vikes, grabbing an 83-69 win on Friday and following it up with a 77-50 thumping on Saturday.
Pandas head coach Scott Edwards said he was concerned that the team would come out flat after their bye-week, but was pleased that his team came out and set the tempo of the game early.
“It was good to see us come out and play with a bit of desperation on Friday night,” Edwards said. “We came off a bye weekend last week and I was nervous about how we would play, and if we would be rusty or not.
“We played very well and executed offensively very well, and certainly played better defence on Saturday. It was a good weekend for us.”
Edwards said that he was relieved that his team was able to get back into the win column after a frustrating weekend against UBC.
“It’s important to limit the number of losses and not lose too many in a row,” Edwards said. “The last weekend out when we played UBC, we won on Friday and lost on Saturday, so it was nice to see us rebound and play better.”
This was an important two wins for the Pandas, as their last game before the break is against the provincial rival Calgary Dinos, who are currently on a four game winning streak. Edwards acknowledged that going into this game with momentum was very important.
“They’re our rivals, we get hyped to play these games and so do they, it should be a great game this Friday,” Edwards said. “You don’t want to go into the break on a loss, you don’t have the opportunity to make it up week to week like you usually do. It’s important to win at any time, but going into the break on a high note is always nice.”
The battle of Alberta next weekend will mark the first meeting of the season between the Pandas and Dinos, who won’t meet again until Feb. 5. With a win, the Pandas can guarantee top spot in the Pioneer Division with an 8-1 record heading into the break, while the Dinos sit firmly in the middle of the pack with a 6-4 record.
The Bears basketball team will also take part in a one game, winner-takes-all battle of Alberta on Friday at the Saville Centre with the Dinos. The Bears are coming off a rough weekend in Victoria. On Friday, they were edged out 74-73 by the Vikes, then on Saturday they got dominated, losing 76-52.
The provincial rivals are headed in completely opposite directions, as Alberta has lost their last three games, while the Dinos are on a two-game winning streak.
