Royals weekly preview

» A look at games coming this week

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

t’s an exciting week for sports.

Hockey is hotter than ever and
the NFL has their conference
finals, but for Douglas fans,
nothing is quite as exciting as
this weekend’s lineup for the
Royals. All four teams will be
in action once again, with the
men and women’s volleyball
teams teeing it off at home.
Here’s a look at this week’s
matchups for the Royals.

Men’s Basketball:

The men are red hot coming
into this weekend. Last weekend
they picked up some very
convincing wins showcasing just
how much they’ve grown since

the start of the season. The fourth :

quarter curse that had plagued
the team all but vanished. But
most importantly, the Royals
look comfortable playing again.

In what has become a more
common occurrence, the Royals
were able to execute beautifully
on their game plans last week.
It showed the league just how
powerful this underdog team can
be if they aren’t be shut down.

They will need that power
this weekend as they visit the
Camosun Chargers. The last
time these two middle-of-the-
table teams clashed was in the
second week, when the Chargers
were barely able to close out the
game. This time the stakes are
much higher. A win will give
the Royals the bump they need
to be level with the Chargers
in the standings. A win by the
Chargers will put them two
games above the Royals, which
could mean everything when
the playoffs come around.

The key for the Royals is one

: of the things they’re strongest at:
: game tape review. The coaching

: staff for the Royals has done an

: excellent job when it comes to :
: preparing the team week to week, :
: and it can be no different this :
: week. If anything, it needs toa

: level above excellent. They had

: the Chargers figured out the last
: time the two played. Time will

: truly be their greatest enemy.

That being said, there is

: little room for mistakes. The

: Royals need to come out strong
: and keep going as such. If

: they can take a lead into the

: fourth, the Chargers will likely
: not beable to catch them.

The team finishes their

: weekend with a rumble against
: the undefeated VIU Mariners.

: The Mariners have looked near :
unstoppable during their n-o run. :
: Lately, however, the team has :
: shown that they have some holes.

Since coming back from

: the break, the Mariners have

: had two closest games of their

: season. They barely came out of
: Langara with a win in overtime

: last Saturday. The so-called giants :
: of the PACWEST conference have
: been cut down a few inches.

For the sake of the Royals,

: let’s hope it stays like that. The

: last time these two teams played,
: the Royals pushed the Mariners

: harder than any other team pre-
: break. An early lead, accrued

: from reckless Mariner mistakes,
: gave the Royals pressure through
: most of the first half. The

: second half of the game showed
: everyone that when pushed to

: the brink, the Mariners are very

: sloppy with their defensive play.

The key for the Royals will

: be to take the lead early and cash
: in when the Mariners collapse on
: their own self-destructive offence. :
: However, the Royals cannot get

: complacent with a lead. The

: Mariners showed last time, that

: no lead is truly safe from them.

: Airtight play from the Royals will
: be needed if they hope to puta

: stop to the rampaging Mariners.

Women’s Basketball:

None have been hotter

: than the lava-like Royals. Since
: dropping their home opener

: against the VIU Mariners, the

: women have gone ona nine-game }
: tear. This week brings potentially : Royals have been mediocre.
: the biggest matchup of maybe :
: the entire regular season. The

: Royals will be clashing with

: fellow powerhouse VIU ina star-

: studded battle for the best record. :
: : teams will be sure to put on

: an entertaining show for all to
: enjoy. The two play on Friday at
: 8 p.m. and on Saturday at 3 p.m.

It is impossible to predict

: what will come out of this
: matchup. The defensively
: solid Mariners will look to
: contain the explosive offence
: of Simran Bir and the Royals.

Men’s Volleyball:

The men’s volleyball

: team will be bringing the

: biggest games of the season

: home this weekend as the

: Camosun Chargers, sitting

: atop of the league with a record
: of 15-1, will be in town.

The last two these two

: volleyball giants played was

: when the Royals made the

: trip to Camosun’s home court.
: The result was not good for

: the Royals. Since then, the

With the Chargers charging

in red hot and yearning to prove
: themselves, the Royals will need
: to step it up big time. Regardless

of the result, these two elite

Women’s Volleyball:

Like the men, the women

will also be facing off against

 
 

Image via www.douglascollegeroyals.ca

: the Camosun Chargers at home.
: The Chargers sit second in the

: standings with a record of 10-

: 6, For the Royals, this will be

: the opportunity to prove to

: the league that the women are

: ready for to play the top teams.

The last time the two

: teams played, it was a tooth-

: and-nail struggle until the

: end. The Chargers took both

: games 3-2 but the Royals made
: them fight for every point. It

: could have gone either way.

Look for that same level of

play this week as the Royals try

: to move themselves closer to

: the top of the standings. Two

: wins would put them in range

: of potentially snagging third

: or second in the standings the

: following week, while two losses
: could see them tumble into sixth.
: This week will absolutely be

: one of the defining weeks of the
: season. Games start at 6 p.m. on
Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.

 

Royals successfully defend their New West kingdom

» Douglas’ basketball squads in action

Ayanda K. Gatsha
Contrioutor

anuary 16 was the date of

heated games for both the
men’s and women’s basketball
teams as Douglas went up
against Columbia Bible
College’s (CBC) finest.

It seemed the Douglas
women had a tough battle ahead
of them as Columbia started
out with the lead. However,
the Royals seemed to maintain
composure, sticking to their
strengths and dominating
the left side of CBC’s defence
with great passing plays. CBC’s
breakaways left the Royals
chasing the game for the

: first quarter, but they fought
: to keep to tie the game at 31
: points by the third quarter.

The Bearcats’ rotation of

: players served them well to stay
: aggressive and hold the lead,

: though Douglas seemed to pick
: it up as the game neared its end.
: With constant turnovers from

: the Royals a strong Columbia

: side had its momentum shut

: off as they chased the game

: down to the closing stages

: of the 4th quarter. Smart

: coaching from the Royals coach
: and good team composure

: allowed Douglas to pull off an

: astounding 53-42 score that left
: the Bearcats wondering how

: their start slipped into a loss.

The men’s game started

: differently as the Royals stuck

: their foot on the gas pedal and
: didn’t let off—dominating

: proceedings at 19-4. CBC’s

: attack was stomped bya solid

: defence, leaving the Bearcats

: chasing the game at the end of
: the second quarter down 42-21.

The Douglas crew was

running the show and didn’t look
: up to share centre stage. CBC did
: take the chances they could but

: the Royals had no intention of

: letting them in the game. As the

: game came to aclose both teams
: had fired threes and hit layups,

: but it was the Royals who were

: victorious by a score of 97-80.

  

Image via www.douglascollegeroyals.ca