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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Tim Martinez: Old state basketball format gone for good

By , Columbian Assistant Sports Editor
Published:

Let’s talk about a pet peeve of mine.

OK, imagine you have a friend who hates living in the Pacific Northwest because it rains a lot. You say, OK then move. Your friend says he can’t because he can’t afford it.

And then he goes right on complaining about the rain.

I kind of get the same feeling about the state basketball tournaments.

I saw this week, from scribes to coaches to fans, a lot of unhappy people with this regional format of the state basketball tournaments.

It seems to be an annual event since the WIAA put an end to the 16-team, four-day tournament format at one site.

I’ve seen the regional format called a travesty, an injustice, how it robs kids of lifetime memories. I even saw WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese get called a dictator, which I thought was incredibly unfair.

But there was one thing I didn’t see: a solution.

I assume the solution critics want to see is a return to the old format. But that ship has sailed.

When the WIAA made its decision to condense the state basketball format, it did it for one reason: finances.

The dwindling attendance on the opening days of the tournament didn’t warrant the rental cost on the Tacoma Dome and other facilities.

And the new format doesn’t save the WIAA one day of facility rental. It saves five days of rental.

Under the old format, the 3A state tournaments would last over four days at the Tacoma. The next week, the 4A tournament would last over another four days. That’s eight days.

Now, both the 4A and 3A tournaments are played over three days at the Tacoma Dome. That saves five days of rental. The same is true in Yakima and Spokane.

So you don’t like the current format. I see why. It’s incredibly flawed. But the old format isn’t coming back.

But are there other options somewhere in between? That’s where this discussion needs to begin.

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Otherwise, the complaints are just noise.

• • •

So let’s get to those state quarterfinal matchups for this year’s state tournaments. And there aren’t any easy games for local teams. But, hey, it’s the state quarterfinals. What do you expect?

We’ll start with teams at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday.

4A BOYS: Top-ranked Union (22-1) will face No. 3 Issaquah (20-5) at 2 p.m. Issaquah beat Jackson

56-52 in the first round. No. 2 Federal Way could await the winner in the quarterfinals.

4A GIRLS: Skyview (20-3) will meet No. 5 Moses Lake (21-2) at 5:30 p.m. Moses Lake routed Timberline 66-36 to reach the Dome. Bellarmine Prep, which rolled past Camas on Saturday, could be a semifinal foe.

3A GIRLS: Prairie (18-6) vs. No. 3 Bellevue (23-3), 12:15 p.m. The Falcons drew a team from talented District 2. Not surprising, as every team that made the final eight that wasn’t from District 2 drew a District 2 team. District 2 sent four teams to the final eight. Bellevue handled Lincoln of Tacoma 60-47 to advance.

And at the Yakima SunDome …

1A BOYS: King’s Way Christian (19-6) vs. No. 3 Vashon Island (22-1), 7:15 p.m. Vashon Island beat Kalama, a Trico rival of King’s Way, 59-38 to advance. So that gives a good indication of how good Vashon is. Top-ranked King’s of Seattle sits as a possible semifinal foe.

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