High school basketball stars shine in dunk-fest

On Kelowna Secondary School’s basketball court, some of the future stars of Canadian basketball are duking it out for the first time in years.

The return of the Interior Savings Western Canada Basketball Tournament was a complete slam dunk.

Organizer Chris Cartwright said he is overjoyed to have it back.

“This is a big part of KSS culture. This is our 48th tournament, [it’s] a big part of our community history,” Cartwright told Kelowna10. “It’s like nothing else you can see throughout Canada at a school event. You have to come and experience it to really understand what it’s all about.”

The feeling from courtside was electric as teams from across the nation battled it out.

Between games Thursday evening, a dunk competition was held to build excitement and further showcase the skills of the competitors.

“The slam dunk is always fun to see, three-point contact, gets an energy,” Cartwright explained. “ It’s just an added feature to our tournament, just to have some fun and allow the kids to show some skills as well.”

Competitors made several attempts to make successful dunks, as well as up the ante of showmanship, with one contestant going as far as attempting it blind.

After two rounds, as well as a final tiebreaker, the top three players were crowned.

Alex Galin of the Vancouver College Fighting Irish was deemed the dunk champion.

Riding the wave of excitement from the competition, the teams then went back into regular matches.

“We have five of the top ten teams from BC at this tournament, we have two teams who are from Winnipeg who are competing for their provincial titles, and we’ve got Ross Shepard from Edmonton,” Cartwright said. “It’s high level. We have the future basketball stars at this gym right now.”

The tournament continues through Saturday.