Hoop nationals set for Fredericton; WMBA host event in St. Stephen
The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball championships and the pre-season WMBA Battle at the Border events highlight busy hoops weekend
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One champion will be crowned in Fredericton and the path to another title will begin in St. Stephen as a pair of high-level basketball events tip off this weekend.
In St. Stephen, the inaugural Battle at the Border is a pre-season tournament for the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association’s four New Brunswick teams – the Fredericton Freeze, Port City Fog, Moncton Mystics and the newest entry Miramichi Her-icanes.
Action gets underway Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at St. Stephen High School when the Fog tangle with the Mystics followed by a 3:30 p.m. showdown between the Freeze and the Her-icanes.
The final is slated for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, where the winning team will receive the World’s Oldest Basketball Court Cup.
The event is the informal kick off to the league’s third season as an elite level loop featuring many of the region’s top players, whether they be graduates of university programs or still in various intercollegiate leagues.
Prior to the games on Saturday, the Fredericton Fusion and Fog Academy under 14 girls teams will face one another in a pair of games, at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, the league announced its schedule for 2024, which begins May 4 and concludes with the Legacy Cup championship on June 23.
Miramichi makes its debut at TD Station on May 4 against Port City at 7 p.m. while earlier that day, Moncton travels to Fredericton for a 6 p.m. date at the Currie Centre.
On May 5, Miramichi hosts Fredericton at Miramichi Valley High School at 3 p.m. in its home opener and the Mystics kick off their home schedule on May 11 at 6 p.m. when they entertain the Halifax Hornets at Crandall University.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball championships get underway Friday at the Richard J. Currie Centre in Fredericton.
Team New Brunswick will kick off the event in Division 2 at 9 a.m. with a date against Nova Scotia, part of a four-game preliminary round for the host province.
New Brunswick will take on the Edmonton Inferno at noon on Friday and complete the day with a date against Calgary Rollers 2 squad at 5 p.m.
N.B.’s roster includes Desiree Isaac-Pictou, a senior women’s national team member who recently qualified for the Paralympics in Paris, Austin MacLellan, the 2023 Canada Games flag bearer and former junior national team member, Westley Johnston, a former senior men’s national team member and professional in Spain, and Logan Aalders, a two-time Canada Games athlete.
On Saturday, New Brunswick will conclude the preliminary round at Club 99 of Saskatoon at 9:45 p.m.
The tournament will continue with preliminary and then playoff games all weekend, with the gold medal game, scheduled for Sunday at noon.
The competing teams include former and current national team athletes, including several athletes set to represent Team Canada at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, beginning in late August. There is also action in 3×3 and mini wheelchair basketball events during a full slate of games this weekend.
In addition to the action on the court, the nationals committee will host the Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet Saturday at 7 p.m., which recognizes top achievements for female and male athletes of the year as well as awards for the junior athlete of the Year, the True Sport Award, and the Leadership and Excellence Award.
The highlight will be the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony which will see the husband-and-wife duo of Sabrina and Dave Durepos of Fredericton take their places in the national shrine.
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