Grabbing rebounds with authority.
Creating offensive opportunities.
Smothering the opposition with solid defence.
That’s the checklist for Josh Slade in his final tournament of provincial high school basketball.
Slade, a 17-year-old Deer Lake native, shares the captain duties for the Elwood High Lakers male basketball team with fellow senior Ryan McFarlane.
The Lakers take to the hardcourt today in Gander in pursuit of the provincial 3A male high school basketball banner in a field of eight teams including Templeton Academy Tigers out of Meadows.
Being co-captain means a fair amount of responsibility for the senior, but he’s feeling good about his team and believes they will give a good account of themselves in a tournament that he figures will feature some tough games.
He has seen some of the teams in the mix play before and the Lakers have beaten a number of the teams standing in their way at Gander Collegiate this weekend.
He doesn’t think there is a team that will run away with it so he plans on encouraging the group to play hard and see what unfolds.
“We’re feeling confident. We know we have to play our hardest to win it,” he said.
His high school years will soon be behind him. He’s hoping his final season will be a memorable one.
“It would be the best feeling ever to go out with a championship in my final year,” he said.
The Elwood High Lakers will also be gunning for gold in Gander, while the Corner Brook High Titans will be in tough looking for an upset at the provincial 4A male basketball tournament this weekend at Gonzaga High School in St. John’s.
