After being forced to come through the backdoor of the All Native Qualifying Tournament following an 84-74 loss to Port Simpson early in the tournament, the Kitamaat Braves came back to beat Lax Kw'alaams 78-65 in the Seniors final on Saturday night.
The two teams kept pace with each other throughout the first quarter, with the Haisla enjoying a six-point, 19-13 lead through 15 minutes. Neither team was able to decisively pull away in the second quarter either, with the Braves leading 38-33 at the half.
While Lax Kw'alaams continued to pressure the Haisla squad as the game progressed, pulling to within four by the end of the third, the high-energy Braves were able to maintain the lead en-route to the 10 point victory.
"It was a good game. We have good basketball players that know how to play the game fundamentally," said Braves coach Wes Nyce, saying he has high hopes for the team come February.
The All Native Qualifying Tournament determines which teams will play in the upcoming All Native Basketball Tournament for divisions with more than 13 teams wanting to participate. Based on the results of last week's tournament, Kitamaat, Port Simpson and Kispiox have qualified for the All Native Basketball Tournament in February.