Some of their key players are on the limp. Be that as it may, the Duchess Park senior boys basketball team will have everyone in uniform for the start of the annual Condor Classic tournament, which tips off today at the local high school.
The Condors will be on the court at 5:15 p.m. for a game against the College Heights Cougars. The Duchess squad, coached by Dave Holmes, features several of the players who brought silver medals home from the recent volleyball provincials in Kelowna.
And, not surprisingly, a couple of those guys are still hurting. They are starting forwards Nathanial Pawluk, who is dealing with knee issues, and Eric Kidwell, whose back is giving him trouble. Then there's starting guard Montell Lindgren, who wasn't on the volleyball team but has knee problems of his own.
"We have a rash of injuries that we're slowly working our way through," Holmes said. "We've gotten past a little bit of that so we'll try and get healthy over the holidays so we can get ourselves geared up for our season."
Despite any issues they may have right now, the Condors should be a powerful force in the province once they gain altitude. In the pre-season rankings in the double-A division, they were listed at No. 3 in B.C. Their lofty perch comes after an eighth-place finish at last year's provincials, a tournament they capped with a 77-70 overtime victory against St. Michaels University School of Victoria. St. Michaels has started this season at the top of the double-A list.
"So we know what's in front of us," Holmes said. "We know that we can play with the top four teams. Our goal is to get [to provincials] and then let the chips fall and see what happens."
Pawluk, Kidwell and Lindgren are all in their Grade 12 years. So is starting guard Luke Holmes. Duchess Park's other starter is Grade 10 student Dieu-Merci Agakiza, a six-foot-three post player whose impressive wing span makes him particularly effective under the hoop.
"He is a tenacious rebounder with soft hands so he is going to do a lot of good things down there," Dave Holmes said. "He has played a lot of ball at lunch hour and with some of the senior guys. He's made himself a player who is coming in with a lot of natural talent."
Other teams in the boys division of the Condor Classic are the D.P. Todd Trojans and PGSS Polars. They will also clash at 5:15 p.m. today. Games will resume on Friday at 12:30 p.m., when the Condors and Polars tip off in front of the entire Duchess Park student body.
The girls division features the Cedars Christian Eagles, Duchess Park juniors, PGSS Polars, Nechako Valley Viqueens, Kelly Road Roadrunners, Duchess Park seniors, D.P. Todd Trojans and College Heights Cougars. The first games are at 3:30 p.m. today, with Cedars taking on the talented Duchess Park juniors and the Polars clashing with the Viqueens.
