The University of Victoria Vikes made the front page of the Vallarta Opina newspaper sports section under the headline, translated from Spanish, reading: “Court painted in red with Maple Leaf in the centre.”
It certainly was just that as the Vikes won the PVR Basketball Classic on Sunday to further burnish their reputation as the likely top-ranked team when the first U Sports men’s basketball top-10 poll is released.
The tournament in Puerto Vallarta was co-hosted by the Vikes and ran Friday to Sunday and featured UVic, University of Calgary Dinos, University of Regina Cougars and Queen’s University Golden Gaels from U Sports and Mexican teams Puerto Vallarta Universitarios, Universidad Panamericana Guadalajara, Tec de Monterrey-Campus Puebla and Escuderos Guadalajara. The Vikes beat the Dinos in the final.
It followed UVic, led by 2023-24 U Sports MVP Diego Maffia, going undefeated through the preceding Calgary Cup pre-season tournament Oct. 4-6 by sweeping the Dinos, University of Alberta Golden Bears and Dalhousie Tigers.
Puerto Vallarta was the well-travelled Vikes’ second international trip this year, following the summer visit to the Bahamas, where UVic lost to the NCAA Div. 1 University of Rhode Island Rams before the Vikes rebounded to beat the Bahamas Selects team. The Vikes were without Maffia in the Bahamas, as the mercurial shooting guard was playing pro during the summer in the CEBL with the Vancouver Bandits.
This year’s cross-border games follow up UVic’s games against NCAA tournament teams Xavier and Penn State last year in the Bahamas. The Vikes’ international trips are facilitated through Howard Kelsey, the two-time Canadian Olympian and former UVic athletic co-ordinator, who has strong international basketball connections.
“Hosting a tournament of this magnitude, out of country, is not easy and I believe UVic as co-host over-delivered in Puerto Vallarta,” said Kelsey, from Mexico.
Having it topped by the Vikes winning the championship didn’t hurt the narrative: “Diego Maffia was Stephen Curry-like in the final against the Dinos,” said Kelsey.
The Canada West regular season opens for the Vikes in Langley on Oct. 31 against the Trinity Western Spartans, with the first home game Nov. 2 on Ken and Kathy Shields Court in CARSA gym against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades.
