Miguel AranasWinning is addictive.
Those were the words Pandas basketball coach Scott Edwards used to describe the massive push the Pandas basketball team made towards the end of the season. Alberta enters the playoffs on a five game win streak, which certainly helps their mindset going into their first round series against the MacEwan Griffins.
“Our athletes are feeling pretty good about how they have played of late,” Edwards said. “We’ll certainly use that confidence to make a big push in these playoffs.”
Alberta and MacEwan both finished the season with 16-4 records, good for third place in the Pioneer Division and second place in the Explorer Division, respectively. Since the Pandas are from the Pioneer Division, they’ll host the series at the Saville Centre.
Speaking of the series itself, this is the first time that two schools from Edmonton will play each other in something other than a meaningless exhibition game, as this is Macewan’s maiden season as a part of the CIS. While some would call this a rivalry game, Edwards refrained from doing so.
“I think it’s a cool thing to be a part of the first ever games between the two schools, but not until there are many more like this would it be considered a rivalry,” Edwards said. “These are two quality teams that play some exciting basketball and hopefully we’ll see a crowd this weekend that appreciates that.”
The Pandas and Griffins haven’t faced off yet this season, but Edwards said the team’s overall preparation wouldn’t be any different than normal.
“It wouldn’t be much different that prepping for a team you haven’t played in a while, which is pretty common in our playoffs,” Edwards said. “I’ve just spent as much time as I can watching them play, getting a feel for the tempo and style of play.
“Figuring out who their important players are and putting a plan together to limit them as much as possible.”
Edwards said he’s hoping for a full house on Friday night for the first ever playoff game between the two universities.
The Golden Bears basketball team also enters Canada West playoff action on a hot note, as they finished the season on an eight game losing streak. After a lacklustre first half of the season, the Bears hit their stride coming out of Winter Break, managing to climb all the way up from seventh to fourth place in the Pioneer division.
Unfortunately for the Bears, their hot finish wasn’t enough to get them home court advantage in the playoffs. The Bears will travel to Victoria to take on the Vikes in a three games series starting on Thursday.
