The Stanley Mission Northern Braves hosted the CCHS White team on Tuesday. (Submitted photo/Derek Konga)

By Derek Cornet

New Opportunity

Three area high schools form Northern Basketball League

Dec 11, 2019 | 1:10 PM

The Northern Basketball League is a new option for students in the region who want to gain experience in the sport.

“A bunch of coaches got together and we created this league this year,” said Churchill Community High School (CCHS) Chargers Coach Derek Konga, who instructs the boys ‘A’ team alongside Tom Harrington. “We were travelling to Prince Albert for three or four years, and it was too much driving and it was too hard on the boys.”

The new league consists of the CCHS ‘A’ White and ‘B’ Blue teams, as well as the Senator Myles Venne School (SMVS) Huskies and Stanley Mission Northern Braves. On Tuesday, the CCHS White team travelled to Stanley Mission for the first match of the season. Churchill won the match by a 70 to 58 score.

Konga believes basketball is becoming a stronger sport in northern Saskatchewan, stating Northern Braves Coach Gabriello Lanniruberto has done a lot to develop the team, which started only a few years ago. He also mentioned SMVS Principal Robert Whiteman and fellow coaches Jeff Bear and Julis Park have worked hard to make that school’s team more competitive. Coaches for the CCHS Blue team are Beckie Groves and Joselyn Vandall.

“I think the Toronto Raptors have a lot to do with it watching them win the championship,” Konga said. “A lot of boys see that and they want to play. This league is really exciting because we get to play northern teams. We’re not driving five hours to play a southern team and have no connection with them. A lot of these boys are friends.”

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The Northern Basketball League will run until the beginning of March with three weeks off for the upcoming holiday break. Konga noted there will be games almost every Thursday during that time, adding all teams will get to play seven or eight games. With less tournaments scheduled this season compared to last, he said the league makes up for at least three of them.

The Northern Braves lost 70 to 58 to CCHS White. (Submitted photo/Derek Konga)

The Chargers are still part of the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s basketball conference, having most recently competed at a tournament this past weekend in Creighton. The team won two out of three matches.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno