A Chilkat Valley tripleheader at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in Juneau was scheduled for Thursday, March 21, as three local, undefeated teams were one win away from the championship game as of press time Wednesday.
The Klukwan Chilkats, Haines Merchants and Klukwan Masters are scheduled to play in three consecutive games.
The Chilkats tip off at 6 p.m. against Hoonah in the “C” bracket. Klukwan has a 2-0 record at Gold Medal, with wins over Angoon, 77-53, and seven-time defending champion Kake, 86-76. Stuart DeWitt and David Buss each are averaging about 20 points a game for the Chilkats.
Both the Merchants and Masters finished as runners-up in the 2012 tournament, and opened this year’s edition with byes. The Merchants, in “B” play, will face Angoon in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal. Haines defeated Wrangell, 66-58, on Monday and outlasted Metlakatla, 83-70 on Tuesday, sparked by top scorers Tyler Healy and Kyle Rush.
The Masters held off Hoonah, 65-61, Tuesday in a game that saw the return of Steve Fossman to the court. Klukwan led by more than 20 points and withstood a furious Hoonah comeback to reach the semifinal. Fossman poured in 21 points and Jeff Sharnbroich added 14 for the Masters. Klukwan and Juneau Alliance will face off in the 9 p.m. game tonight.
The winners of all three games will advance to Saturday’s championship contests. The losers will have to win once more on Friday to secure a spot in the title games.
The Klukwan “B” team was eliminated from the tournament on Tuesday after tallying a 1-2 record. Klukwan opened with a loss to Angoon, recovered for a 60-53 win against Sitka, and fell to Wrangell.
Championship games start with the Masters 4 p.m. Saturday, followed by “C” and then “B.” More information is available at http://www.goldmedalbasketball.org.