The St. Anthony’s Sabres senior boys basketball team earned their way to a berth at the 1A provincial tournament after a silver medal finish at zones.
The Sabres first matched up against Airdrie Koinonia Christian School on Friday afternoon. The Sabres came out strong and before long had Airdrie on the ropes. They cruised to an 88-31 victory. Alex Cliché led all scorers with 28 points, Tanner Borowicz had a strong game with 12 points, a monstrous 28 rebounds and nine blocks. The Sabres were dealt a blow when starting center Brandon Gruber went down before the half with an ankle injury, and was not able to continue for the rest of the tournament.
This put the Sabres up against the home team Rosemary Rockets on Saturday. The game was tight, and only three points separated the two teams after the first quarter. The Sabres extended the lead to 10 at the half. The Sabres won 82-52. Borowicz was the top scorer with 25. Cliché has a triple double, putting up 17 points, pulling down 16 rebounds and rejecting 12 shots.
The team played the best basketball of the tournament versus Rosemary with strong perimeter defence and strong play under the basket.
The Sabres were in the championship versus the Acme Redmen, the number two-ranked team in the province. The teams have met twice this season, and Acme had swept the series. Acme came out with exceptional shooting and a barrage of three pointers had them up 18-6 in just minutes. The Redmen never looked back and won 107-64. Borowicz had 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sabre’s are now on their way to provincials this week at Heritage Christian Academy in Calgary. The team was added with a number 12 ranking, and they play the number 5 ranked Coaldale Christian School in the first round Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m.
