Nationals - A Nova Scotia Preview

(2013 15u Girls Bronze Medalist)

Four teams get set to board a plane from Halifax Nova Scotia on Thursday July 24, en route to Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta and home to the University of Alberta and the host of the 2014 Basketball National Championships. The newly constructed Saville Community Sports Centre houses 12 full size FIBA regulated basketball courts, 4 of which will be used for the competition. This is the first time in its history that all 4 national championships will be hosted in the same venue, combining the 15u and 17u divisions for both the boys and the girls.

What follows below is a short preview to what is in store for our 4 teams competing in this annual event. Three of Nova Scotia's teams will be entering the tournament as the 5th seed while the 15u girls will enter as the 3rd seed on the shoulders of the bronze medal win for the 15u girls last year in Newfoundland.

The seeding for the tournament is based on the results from the 2013 Nationals and the 2013 Canada Games. The 15u boys and girls competed last year in St John's, Newfoundland, while the 17u boys and girls competed in Sherbrooke, Quebec at the Canada Games.

All the games from the National Championship will be Webcasted live at: http://www.sportscanada.tv


Nova Scotia 15u Girls:

Let us begin with the reining bronze medalist from a year ago, who enter this tournament as the #3 seeded team and will square up against Quebec(#2) in the #2 vs. #3 matchup. Canada Basketball arranged the tournament so that the top four seeds from last year play in the same pool during the preliminary rounds to determine the top four seeds for the tournament heading into the the playoff round. The 15u girls will play their first game against Quebec on Friday July 25th at 6:00pm Mountain Standard Time (MST), or 9:00pm in Nova Scotia's Atlantic Standard Time (AST). Depending on the result of that game, they will play Ontario or Saskatchewan the following day at either 11:15am (MST) or 3:45pm (MST) to finish out their pool play. Based on where they finish in their preliminary pool play will determine when they play their first playoff game.

Nova Scotia 15u Boys

The 15u boys enter the National Championship at the #5 seeded team based on last years result in Newfoundland. Their pool this year includes #8 Saskatchewan and #10 PEI. The boys will kick of the tournament on Friday July 25th vs. PEI team at 11:15am (MST) or 2:15pm (AST). The two teams have had the opportunity to compete already this summer with Nova Scotia coming out on top. Their second game will be against Saskatchewan the following day, Saturday July 26th at 1:30pm (MST) or 4:30pm (AST).

Nova Scotia 17u Girls

The girls team heads to Edmonton as the #5 seed and will meet #8 Quebec and #10 PEI in their preliminary round games. They tip off against PEI on Friday July 25th at 8:15pm (MST or 11:15pm (AST). They will then meet up with Quebec on Saturday July 26th at 1:30pm (MST) or 4:30pm (AST) to round out their preliminary pool games. Based on their results from the preliminary pool play, the teams will be re-ranked and head into the playoff bracket starting on July 27th.

Nova Scotia 17u Boys

The 17u boys will also enter the tournament as the #5 seed and meet up with #8 PEI and #10 Alberta based on the results from last year's Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The boys will begin their pool play against the host from Alberta on the main court on July 25th at 8:15pm (MST) or 11:15pm (AST). They will then play the following day (July 26th) against PEI at 3:45pm (MST) or 6:45pm (AST). Based on the results from the preliminary pool play, the teams will be re-ranked and head into the playoff bracket starting on July 27th.

Remember, all games will be webcasted live at: http://www.sportscanada.tv


**Along side this competition, there will also be a Western Region National Championship that Nova Scotia will compete in with the 16u boys team. More details to follow with the schedule, updates and results.