The Laxkw'alaams Hoyas will be arriving in Port Alberni this weekend, and the junior boys' basketball team will not be content with winning another third-place trophy at the provincial championships.
The squad had to settle for third spot at the 2011 British Columbia Junior All Native Basketball Tournament, which was staged in Penticton last March.
The Hoyas are now gunning to capture top honours in their division at this year's provincials.
The event, which will feature 27 boys' teams and 24 girls' clubs, begins on Sunday and continues until March 23.
Hoyas' coach Stan Dennis likes his team's chances of going all the way. His 12-player roster includes 10 individuals who were also part of last year's squad.
"We've definitely got a good core group," Dennis said. "They didn't like the fact they finished third at last year's tournament. They're pretty hungry this year."
Dennis, who is 47, has been coaching the Hoyas for the past seven years. He believes the provincial tournament will be his final one as a bench boss.
"I think I'll retire after this month," he said.
So obviously he'd like to go out on a winning note.
"That would be nice for them," he said of his players. "I'm not too worried about myself. But they're a good core of guys who are life-long friends. It would be nice to see them win."
The Hoyas are led by a pair of guards Chad Dennis (Stan's son) and Darrell Reece Jr., as well as power forward Bryton Wells.
Wells, who is almost 6-foot-4, is the tallest player on the Hoyas, who are from Port Simpson.
"We're not a very big tall team," coach Dennis said. "Our average height is about 5-10 or 5-11. But we're a strong team. We have strong team play and it's pretty consistent throughout. It's not just our starters, but our bench players are strong team players as well."
Dennis added his charges are keen to make the 1,000-plus kilometre journey to Port Alberni. The club will start its trip with a ferry ride on Friday and arrive in Port Alberni on Saturday.
"Our boys are all set," he said. "They've been doing their countdowns on how many days are left before we leave."
Dennis added five of his players have already participated at a provincial tournament in Port Alberni. That was back in 2009 when this same tournament was previously held.
"They would have been 12- and 13-year-olds then," Dennis said.
The provincial tournament is for those ages 17 and under.
The Hoyas have already enjoyed some success on the courts this season. For starters they won their Northwest zone championships this past October. Though that tournament was originally scheduled to feature five entrants, two clubs pulled out late.
The Hoyas won all three of their matches at that tournament to win the title.
They were also hoping to compete in the junior division (17 and under) at a Prince Rupert event this past December.
But since there were no other clubs interested in participating in the junior category, the Hoyas decided to move up and compete in the men's open division.
The Hoyas managed to win their opening match at that tournament. But they were then eliminated from further play when they lost their next two encounters.
"The fact they won a game was pretty significant considering they played against men," Dennis said.
The Hoyas will enter the provincials on an upbeat note. That's because earlier this month they won a five-team tournament that was staged in Kincolith.
Matches at the Port Alberni tournament will be held at three facilities: Alberni District Secondary School, Athletic Hall and Maht Mahs Gym. And the tournament will be webcast live at www.hashilthsa.com
