SUMMERSIDE – The first major tournament in the renovated Three Oaks Senior High School gymnasium will mark a special milestone.
The Summerside high school, which is undergoing a $20-million-plus renovation, will be the site for the 25th edition of the Christmas Classic – a senior AAA boys’ basketball tournament.
“It’s certainly a Christmas tradition in our department,” said Three Oaks athletic director Joel Arsenault, who noted games will also be played just up the street from Three Oaks at Athena Consolidated School. “It’s been quite some time since we have had 12 teams, so we are excited about that.”
Defending-champion Dartmouth, which defeated the host Three Oaks Axemen in the final to cap an undefeated showing in the eight-team 2017 Christmas Classic, is one of the teams, Arsenault noted, from P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to watch.
“There is a lot of good competition,” offered Axemen shooting guard Justin Caron, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student from Summerside. “We had a good test last year against Dartmouth.”
Opening game
The opening game features the Axemen taking on longtime rival Colonel Gray Colonels of Charlottetown in front of the student body on Thursday at 2:45 p.m.
“We are lining it up with a pep rally earlier in the day,” said Arsenault. “It should be a fun day for the students.”
Axemen Grade 11 point guard Sahib Singh of Summerside is excited to have the opportunity to play before a full gymnasium.
“It’s a good experience playing in front of our friends and family,” said Singh, 16. “Last year, we got a lot of support, so we are hoping for more of that this year.”
Singh and Caron, who will be competing in their second Christmas Classic tournament, both agree on keys to success for the Axemen.
“We have to pick up the defensive intensity and shoot the ball well,” said Caron.
Singh added, “We want to play to our strengths, which is running the ball, shooting well and defending.”
With the teams divided into four three-team divisions, Caron fully understands there is little room for error. The Axemen’s second and final round-robin game will be against Amherst on Friday at 7 p.m.
The first-place teams in each pool will advance to the semifinal games on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The championship game will follow at 2:30 p.m.
“We have to come strong out of the gate because you don’t really know what the teams are going to be like,” said Caron. “You have to be ready every game.”
Skills competition
Along with the games, another highlight of the Christmas Classic is the three-point and star shooting contests on Friday at 4:10 p.m. Arsenault explained what star shooting is, “It’s a shooting competition for players from each team, and they have to make shots from different areas on the court.”
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At A Glance
A look at the 25th Three Oaks Christmas Classic:
Divisions
Pool A – Three Oaks, Amherst, Colonel Gray.
Pool B – Charlottetown Rural, Dartmouth, École Sainte-Anne.
Pool C – Fredericton High, Halifax West, Bluefield.
Pool D – Bathurst, Westisle, James M. Hill.
Schedule
(Site in parenthesis)
Thursday, Dec. 13
2:45 p.m. – Three Oaks vs. Colonel Gray (Three Oaks).
Friday, Dec. 14
11 a.m. – Westisle vs. James M. Hill (Three Oaks).
12:45 p.m. – Charlottetown Rural vs. Dartmouth (Three Oaks); Halifax West vs. Fredericton High (Athena).
2:30 p.m. – Colonel Gray s. Amherst (Three Oaks); James M. Hill vs. Bathurst (Athena).
4:10 p.m. – Three-point and star shooting contests (Three Oaks).
5:15 p.m. – Bluefield vs. Fredericton (Three Oaks); Charlottetown Rural vs. École Sainte-Anne (Athena).
7 p.m. – Amherst vs. Three Oaks (Three Oaks); Westisle vs. Bathurst (Athena).
8:45 p.m. – Dartmouth vs. École Sainte-Anne (Three Oaks); Bluefield vs. Halifax West (Athena).
End of round robin.
Saturday, Dec. 15
8:45 a.m. – Third-place team in Pool A vs. third-place team in Pool D (Three Oaks); third-place team in Pool B vs. third-place team in Pool C (Athena).
10:30 a.m. – Semifinals: first-place team in Pool A vs. first-place team in Pool D (Three Oaks); first-place team in Pool B vs. first-place team in Pool C (Athena).
12:15 p.m. – Second-place team in Pool A vs. second-place team in Pool D (Three Oaks); second-place team in Pool B vs. second-place team in Pool C (Athena).
2:30 p.m. – Championship game: winners of 10:30 a.m. games.
