WINNIPEG, Man. – The 'Birds are back in the conference semifinals for a second straight season. No.4-seed UBC (15-5) is flying halfway across the country to try to take on the No.1-seed Winnipeg Wesmen (16-4) in a single elimination showdown, with a spot in the Canada West Gold Medal game and a berth at the U SPORTS Championship on the line. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Saturday at the Duckworth Centre.
"I'm really excited. This is the position that we wanted to be in at the beginning of the year!" said an enthused
Phil Jalalpoor, Thunderbirds' interim head coach. "There's no more easy games, we need a great performance to hopefully pull one out. We're gonna fight for the 'Birds!"
Jalalpoor has plenty of reason for excitement after winning his first-ever playoff game as head coach last weekend, when the blue and gold pulled out a thrilling 77-69 victory over No.5-seed Manitoba (13-7) at War Memorial Gym.
"Those are the games where you just find a way to win, and we did that, so hopefully we can learn from it while keeping our same approach of improving week to week, but maybe keep things a bit less chaotic this weekend," quipped Jalalpoor.
Though it may not have always been pretty, the U SPORTS No.5-ranked T-Birds' signature fast-paced, amorphous offence was on full display, while the team's constantly shifting defensive tactics made the Bisons overtly uncomfortable, helping UBC weather several Manitoba comeback attempts.
"I think that against Winnipeg we need to level up again in all sorts of areas," mused Jalalpoor.
"Offensively, taking care of the of the basketball a bit better. Defensively, staying concentrated and knowing what they do. Those things can feed off of each other and run together. But we've got to improve in those areas or else it's going to be difficult to get a win there."
The Wesmen have only lost two games at home all season, coming off of an 82-69 Valentine's Day quarter-final victory over then-defending conference champion and No.9-seed Calgary (12-8). Led by Canada West First Team All-Star guard Kato Jaro, Winnipeg is a model of balance and consistency. Featuring five players averaging between 10-15 points per game, the U SPORTS No.3-ranked Wesmen just posted their second consecutive 16-4 season, sporting both the third best offence and third best defence in the conference.
"There's a reason that they're the number three team in the country," analyzed Jalalpoor. " They're very solid all around, they don't really have any bad games, they always chip away. The few losses that they have are close games.
"They know who they are, they know what they do, they brought back a lot of what worked well last year. When scouting it can be hard to find an edge, because there aren't many weaknesses, so we have to have our best punch ready on both sides of the ball to make it hard for them."
A win would see the T-Birds return to the Canada West Gold Medal game for the second straight season, as the team tries to capture its first conference title since 2020. Perhaps the more coveted prize, a conference finals appearance also guarantees a spot at the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Basketball Final 8 in Calgary, March 6-8. With both teams ranked top five nationally, either one would still have a strong case to receive the at-large berth at the national championship should they lose Saturday's semifinal. That berth will be determined in the days leading up to the event.
Catch this weekend's semifinal, live or on demand, on
Canada West TV.
