The Vanier gym was again the place to be on Saturday if basketball is your sport. The Grade 8 and the Grade 9/10 basketball championships came to an end with the winners bringing home a new banner for the rafters.

The Vanier Crusaders got two new titles to their name as both the girls and the boys’ Grade 8 teams won the finals.

In the girls’ final, the Crusaders took on the Porter Creek Rams. The game remained close heading into the final frame of the game with the Crusaders holding a slight edge in the score.

In the fourth, the Crusaders were able to open the game up, getting it done on defence and getting out on the fast break for easy buckets under the hoop. The Crusaders pushed their lead to double digits and cruised until the final buzzer winning the championship 39-25.

In the boys’ Grade 8 finals, it was an all Crusader game as both Vanier teams made it through to the gold medal finale. Despite the athletes being from the same school, to watch the game, you would not guess that they were classmates.

The game was entertaining to watch. Both teams locked in on defence and didn’t allow any easy buckets in the half court. On offence, the ball zipped around the perimeter trying to break down the defence for looks from three or in the paint.

The game remained tight throughout, with one side pulling away for a six-point lead only to see it evaporate just as quickly. It was the blue side which managed to pull ahead and maintain the lead for an extended period of time.

They carried that lead into the final quarter but the white side managed to pull within one with fewer than four minutes to go. However, the blue side got a clutch three-pointer to pull ahead by four.

Needing points, the white side had to start gambling on on defenc. That meant the blue side was able to get inside for easy buckets if the gamble didn’t pay off.

The blue Vanier side took the game 43-29, in a contest that was much closer than the final score would indicate.

In the Grade 9/10 boys finals, the Rams were able to overcome the F.H. Collins Warriors for the championship.

The Vanier Crusader girls added yet another title to their school’s gym wall on Saturday knocking off the Rams for gold.

Peter Grundmanis, the Yukon Schools Athletic Association’s executive director, said it was a good display of basketball over the weekend.

"Especially heading into the final games, the level was really high," said Grundmanis. "We saw good, intense games, I was suitably impressed."

Don’t worry, basketball fans: the senior championships are in full swing, with games happening in the evenings culminating in the gold medal games on Thursday.