Simmy Brar of the Osoyoos Rattlers advances with the ball as opponents from the Nakusp Cougars try to get in his way. The two teams played in a tournament on Saturday at Osoyoos Secondary School. This week OSS hosts the Valleys tournament of the playoffs. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Osoyoos Rattlers senior boys basketball team is on a roll as it heads into the Valleys tournament and the start of the playoffs.
The three-day tournament being held at Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) runs from Thursday to Saturday and will involve eight single-A teams from a large area of the B.C. Interior.
The tournament will determine which teams go on to the provincials in Langley from March 8-11.
On Saturday, the Rattlers handily beat teams from Nakusp and Grand Forks in the Osoyoos Round Robin tournament at OSS.
In the first game of the three-team tournament, Osoyoos beat Nakusp 85-54.
Then they trounced Grand Forks 70-34.
Those two teams also faced each other, resulting in a 62-41 win for Grand Forks over Nakusp.
Recently they beat Keremeos to gain the top spot in the South zone and they also finished first at a tournament in Barriere earlier this month.
“This year’s team is the strongest we have been in a long time,” said Rattlers Coach Casey Brouwer.
Currently the Rattlers are ranked eighth in the province among the 69 single-A teams.
Rattlers teams in the past two years have also been strong, with the team going on to provincials in both years.
In 2016, the Rattlers finished 8th and in 2015, they finished 11th.
The Valleys tournament this week is played between the top two teams in each of four zones.
Teams included in the Valleys come from Osoyoos, Keremeos, Princeton, Kelowna, Vernon, Sicamous, Salmon Arm, Lumby, Kamloops, Barriere, Lytton, Ashcroft, Clearwater and Chase.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Kavneer Dhaliwal of the Osoyoos Rattlers leaps for the basket in a game on Saturday against the Nakusp Cougars. (Richard McGuire photo)
Simmy Brar of the Osoyoos Rattlers advances with the ball as opponents from the Nakusp Cougars try to get in his way. The two teams played in a tournament on Saturday at Osoyoos Secondary School. This week OSS hosts the Valleys tournament of the playoffs. (Richard McGuire photo)
