OPORTS

Royals Face Biggest Test

Brian McLennon, Sports Editor

After a successful 5—0 start to the season, the Douglas College Royals Men’s basketball team will face their biggest test this coming weekend against the Langara College Falcons.

Under new head coach, Jamie Oei, the Men’s basketball program has had its best start in nearly a decade. Even though the season is still very early, many would not have predicted the Royals to be sitting in the number-one spot after three weeks.

With wins over Malaspina, Kwantlen, and Okanagan, Oei must feel pretty content that his team has won five out of seven “must-win” games for this season; the next two are scheduled in the last week of the season against Columbia Bible College.

“We're a young team and it’s great that we have been able to take care of our business,” said Oei. “Looking forward to this weekend, I think Langara is one of the best, if not the best team in the league on paper...but you still have to play the game.”

Very Close

The last time these two teams met was at the Royals Pre- Season Invitational Tournament, where Langara slipped away with a 70-67 victory. The exhibition game featured

the key match ups on the blocks with Berg vs. Sponaski

and Thomson vs. Ruzic. The same will hold true for the upcoming back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night at the New West campus gymnasium.

“We match up very well in the post,” said Oei. “These are probably the four best post players in league. I think they [Langara] have more experience in the backcourt, but our guards, especially Kelly [Kilpatrick], have been playing really well.”

The battle of goliaths slightly favored Douglas in the last match up, as Berg and Thomson combined for 35 points versus Sponaski and Ruzic’s 29. However, more interestingly, the Royals guards held their own against the “more experienced” Langara backcourt. Held to a combined total of three points in the second half and a total of nine points for the entire game, the Royals backcourt out scored their counterparts as they poured in 25 points.

Bench Pecked So how did the Royals lose the game when they won the battle of the post and the duel of the guards? Their bench was pecked.

The Falcons bench delivered a one, two, three combo from Watson [Kyle], who scored 12, Dillon [Jeron] who

melennonb@douglas.be.ca

dropped 10 and Dusdal [Sean] who chipped in with 7. Langara netted 29 points off the bench, while the Royals managed only 11.

The bench play will be a pivotal factor for this weekend; especially for these two coaches who like to dig deep into their bench wallets looking for right amount of change to buy a win.

“Tt would be nice to get a double win this weekend,” said Oei. “These guys [the Royals] are playing very well and let’s hope that momentum continues into this weekend.”

The first game of the back-to-back contest against Langara begins Friday night, with the women playing first a 6pm, followed by the men’s game at 8pm. On Saturday, the two teams will fight it out all over again at the same times.

No More One Night Stands

BCCAA Revamps schedule

Brian McLennon, Sports Editor

The 2005-2006 basketball and volleyball seasons got underway two weeks back, and for the first time in many years, the British Columbia College’s Athletic Association (BCCAA) has implemented a double-play schedule. The new system has the same teams competing both on Friday and Saturday. Why? Well, unlike professional sporting organizations, the reasons were not based on viewing audiences, T'V ratings, or declining attendance. The sole purpose of the newly reformatted schedule was to ease the strain on the pockets of the Athletic departments by streamlining the amount of travel.

Under the previous format, teams were paired into Thelma-and-Louise-like “travel partners” (ie—Douglas and Kwantlen), and they would go from town to town competing against the other teams who too were paired into partners. The first romp would take place on Friday nights and then teams would swap play mates for Saturday nights. No fish bowl or a set of keys here, you knew who you were frolicking with the next night and every weekend night as a matter of fact. The schedule would work the same home games as well.

However, the new schedule promotes a more monogamous relationship between opponents and less promiscuous travel. No more one bullet in the pistol, one night stands. There is now a commitment and the two teams now have to face each other the following night. As with all commitments and changes, the new schedule was met with mixed reviews by players and coaches.

“T kind of like the idea of the double play schedule,” said team Captain, Geoff Lenahan. “It seems to have created a ‘rivalry’ atmosphere for players. As a player, you

can make adjustments to opposing players immediately instead of waiting three months until you see them again.”

In other words, if you were bitch slapped the night before, you can get payback right immediate by putting away the “KY” the following night when you see the same opponent again.

The truth of the matter is, under the old scheduling format there were two challenging road trips for Lower Mainland teams like Capilano, Douglas, Langara, and Kwantlen. The first was the long trek to Prince George (PG) to play University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and then across to Kamloops to play Thompson Rivers University (TRU, formerly the University College of the Cariboo). The ten-hour bus trip to PG is daunting enough, but to then have to pack up and head another six hours to Kamloops, where rested opponents await? It was truly a test of a team’s strength. It was no wonder why most teams lost their mojo on these trips and returned battered and bruised.

The other trip was across the waters to Nanaimo and Victoria. Not nearly as bad as the Vancouver to PG to Kamloops trip, but the island trip with the ferry ride made travel just a little bit complex. It was like having a partner who lived on the other side of town... you were always watching the clock to make sure you could catch the last bus or in this case, the last ferry. You couldn’t really bask in the afterglow of the frolic. In short , it was a quickie... thanks, but I gotta go.

For others, they think the double play schedule will present more challenges other than immediate adjustments. ..especially for coaches.

“T find the new double play schedule interesting and it shculd create some challenges to the coaches in the league, said one former head coach. “A double-win weekend is huge for the victors, but it could be a devastating blow for the defeated team...especially when fighting for a playoff position in late February. Mix in the factor of a team’s home schedule compared to their road schedule. ..it could make it interesting,”

And interesting it will be. The new BCCAA schedule continues to unfold this weekend. Check the Upcoming Games schedule for dates and times.

November 30_December 6

December 2 Men’s Volleyball vs. Vancouver All-Stars New West Campus—7pm

Women’s Basketball @ Whatcom CC Bellingham, WA—5pm

December 3 Men’s Basketball vs. Lower Columbia CC New West Campus—3:30pm

Men’s Rugby vs. Kelowna Queens Park—1st Div.: 2:30pm, 2nd Div.: 1:00pm

Men’s Rugby vs. Scribes Queens Park—3rd Div.: 11:30am

Wrestling vs. Highline CC SFU—Burnaby Mountain @ 10am