Exciting University Basketball Showdown Expected in Shawinigan With Tickets Selling Fast

A crowd of 300 to 400 people is expected to attend the three scheduled confrontations between the teams which bring together several university basketball hopefuls. Already, half of the tickets have been sold.

They will be able to witness high-level basketball, while around ten players who will be in action in Shawinigan have been offered scholarships by American universities to play in the NCAA.

The local team has hopes of punching its ticket to Toronto for the national tournament which will take place next weekend, especially since it won the Can United honors in the United States earlier this year.

“We still have a very good team. We can beat the first. It’s a big year for the rest of us.”

— Francis Mondou, coach and general manager

The Shawinigan team welcomes the three other NPUBA teams from Quebec. (Courtesy)

Shawinigan will still have a lot to do to get there, while parity is strong between the four Quebec teams in the Northern Pre-University Basketball Association (NPUBA).

She could count on a little help from the Dynastie de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu who already qualified at the Platinum Circus last week in Toronto.

If the Dynastie beats Thetford Slam in the first semi-final, at 1 p.m., Shawinigan Prep would only need to win its semi-final against Lennoxville Prep, at 3 p.m., to qualify for the national tournament.

If the team ever loses the honors, it could still qualify by being selected by the committee, but this is nothing to be assured. “We are very limited. We are On the bubble, as they say, admits Francis Mondou. They take the 12 best teams and on top of that, there are the four champion teams [des autres ligues] Canadians.”

The confrontation with Lennoxville is likely to be exciting. This week, Shawinigan was beaten twice and won once against its semi-final opponent. Each time, the winning team won easily.

If Thetford wins in the final, Shawinigan believes it will be able to beat them. “They are a little weaker, but they beat us once this year and we beat them twice,” says Francis Mondou.

As for the Dynasty, Shawinigan Prep has no complexes even if it lost both confrontations against this team this year. “We played badly, but they are still gigantic. They have three 6-foot-9 guys and a 7-foot guy who has around 40 NCAA offers, says Francis Mondou. We still beat teams who beat them.”

Between the semi-finals and the final which will be played at 7:30 p.m., different activities are planned, including skills competitions as well as a performance by Tony Sawyer, a hip-hop singer.

2024-03-15 17:33:58
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