The West Coast Spirits managed to silence their critics by defending their championship at a prestigious basketball tournament.
The Nanaimo-based side once again came out on top winning the women's division at the All Native Basketball Tournament, which concluded this past Saturday in Prince Rupert.
The Spirits edged a team from Metlakatla 63-61 in the championship final.
Aboriginal squads from across British Columbia compete in the Prince Rupert tournament, which has been running for 54 years.
Spirits' coach Kevin Robinson said winning back-to-back championships will considerably cut down on the number of team detractors.
"A lot of people said it was a fluke when we won it last year," he said. "Now there's going to be a lot more respect for us."
The West Coast roster this year included 11 players. Seven of those athletes were also on last year's championship squad.
The Spirits' 2012 team consisted of just eight players.
"We had a little more depth this year," Robinson said. "But in the final game it was mostly six players that saw action on the floor. We did what we did so we could win."
The Spirit was led by Brittany Williams, who shone throughout the event and was selected as the tournament's most valuable player.
Meanwhile, two other players from the West Coast club—Jeannine Adams and Jolene Nagy—were named to the tournament all-star squad.
Besides defending its tournament title, Robinson was thrilled his side was chosen as the most sportsmanlike team in its division.
"That's a huge bonus," he said. "It beats any other trophy that is out there to win. I don't know if that has ever been done before—to have the team that wins the championship to also win the most sportsmanlike team trophy."
Fourteen clubs participated in the women's division.
Since they were the defending champs, the Spirits received an opening-round bye in the event, which featured a double-knockout formula, with squads eliminated from further action after losing two matches.
The West Coast team defeated Kispiox 62-44 in its opening game. But the Spirits were defeated in their next outing, 59-47, by Metlakatla. But a 70-53 victory over a squad called Rain propelled the Spirits into the championship final.
Though his charges had lost to Metlakatla earlier in the tournament, Robinson said he was confident the Spirits could prevail in the final.
"They had knocked down some big shots at the end of the game (the first time we played them)," he said of the Metlakatla side. "This time I wasn't about to let it happen again."
The Metlakatla squad appeared to be heading to victory though in the final as it led by seven points with less than seven minutes remaining in the contest.
Robinson though switched up his team's defensive formation—going to a man-to-man coverage—for the rest of the match. The move paid off as the Spirits rallied for the win.
The Ahousat Joye also participated in the women's division. This team registered one victory and was eliminated after its third game.
Meanwhile, the Ahousat Timbermen came close to winning the intermediate (21 and under) men's division.
The Timbermen advanced to their championship final, which was won 70-67 by Kitamaat.
Also taking part in the tournament were the Ahousat Suns, who were entered the men's division, and a Port Alberni side that competed in the men's masters grouping.
The Suns ended up with a third-place finish in their division while the Port Alberni club lost its opening two games.
