Wednesday evening, walking into the Fieldhouse at the Langley Event Center, you felt the
passion coming from the Pacific Christian Pacers and St. Patrick Celtics benches. With a welcoming blaze of school cheer, both teams were giving quite the show in the first half.
PCS and St. Pats collided head to head showing a score of 13-13 at the start of the second
quarter, both teams equal defensively. The Pacers’ Eden Kremler (#11; Grade 12) has been
seen as a solid figure on the court defensively and offensively. Kremler has undoubtedly made her mark on the court today. PCS had been hugging the 3-2 Zone defensive while St. Pats was confidently working around them with their 1-2-1 Zone offensive, however, it did not work in their favour, PCS showed to be bigger when facing them increasing their lead, to 30-20 at halftime.
“I find it natural to be a leader on the court… reminding myself to have fun and not to be super serious about it. I’m here because I love basketball,” said Kelmer regarding her role as a playmaker.
Starting the second half, the Pacers left no room for error. The pressure never lightened and with a loud bench, one can feel the high the girls radiated onto the court. While PCS was holding their ten-point lead, Coach Jen Stewart had no doubt in her girl’s performance, showcasing the true partnership of the team gave a testament to the girl’s hard work on and off the court, “team spirit is created from them. What our coaching staff is embossing on them is that they understand their innate value and work, it doesn’t come from the court, it comes from who they are… we play free”. A true testament to how the girls performed on and off the court, finishing the third quarter with a whopping 27-point lead.
Kealayna Tupas-Singh (#23, Grade 9) was on her game, scoring from long range. Kealayna and her sister Joaleah made it hard for St. Patrick’s to catch their breath. Joaleah was consistently on the move, nothing seemed to stop her. Joaleah and Kealayna Tupas-Singh showed a united front on and off the court. “We seem to bounce off each other well,” says Kealayna, “It’s been fun playing alongside each other.”
Starting in the 3rd quarter, the Pacers were not given any chances of advancement. Dominating the second half, Pacific Christian showed how to finish, not allowing St. Patrick many chances, while they extended their lead by 15 points, winning the game 58-38.
The energy was electric coming from Pacific Christian. Away from home on the island in
Victoria, the support of their student body showed the team that they were still loved, far from home. “Moms and dads bake muffins and cookies, which they can’t have unless they win. Our coaching staff are always putting together team-building activities for them,” said coach Jen Stewart.
It seems home has not left them with the support of family.
“Being our best team. I heard that the definition of love: is doing the highest good for the other person. When we chose the highest good for the other person. We operate out of love.” said Stewart.
