The Riverside Rapids senior girls basketball team open their own Tournament for Emily today (Tuesday) against a familiar foe.
And a bit of a hunger for redemption.
The Rapids play top-ranked Walnut Grove from Langley at 7 p.m. at Riverside secondary in Port Coquitlam, just four days after the Gators chomped them 91-64 in the final of the Tsumura Invitational tournament at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday.
But Rapids coach Paul Langford said that familiarity goes beyond tournament action, as many players from the two teams do battle on the hardwood with and against each other during summer programs.
He said after Saturday’s result, his players still have some lessons to be learned about the Gators.
“We need to figure them out better on defence and we cannot let their stars be stars,” Langford said, adding if his team can play a more complete game and react to Walnut Groves’ speed better, the result Tuesday may be different.
The Tournament for Emily is dedicated to Emily Inglis, a Port Coquitlam girl who died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 12, and raises money for B.C. Children’s Hospital.
The 15th annual tournament features four teams that were ranked amongst the top ten in the province prior to last weekend’s Tsumura tournament: Riverside was ranked second; Walnut Grove fourth; Brookswood fifth; and Robert Bateman eighth. McMath secondary from Richmond and Langley Christian round out the six-team senior field, while another four squads will compete in the junior tournament.
Riverside will meet Argyle on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and Bateman on Thursday, also at 7 p.m., before closing out the tournament on Friday with a game against McMath at 3:30 p.m. All games are at Riverside secondary school.
