Judging by the play of both senior Warriors teams, basketball must be a mandatory subject at F.H. Collins Secondary School.

On Wednesday, both the school's Grade 11/12 boys' and girls' basketball squads defended their Yukon Championship titles at Porter Creek Secondary School.

F.H. Collins' girls' group went on to hand a 72-59 home court loss to the Porter Creek Rams, while the Warriors boys' team won a close 79-75 tilt against Vanier Catholic Secondary School.

"This is probably the best feeling," said Tony Nguyen, the point guard on the F.H. Collins boys' team. "All of the time we put in as a team was for this moment and we achieved it. It feels great."

The F.H. boys' group got off to a roaring start against the Vanier Crusaders and it wasn't long before the team had built up an 11-3 lead.

In a particularly strong opening quarter, the Warriors dropped 13 more points, taking a 24-13 advantage into the second.

The three-ball was a factor in the second, which began with Nguyen draining a shot from just outside the three-point line.

This seemed to open up the flood gates, resulting in both teams sinking some big shots, including a few three pointers from Vanier and two more for F.H. Collins.

With the score 33-18 in F.H. Collins' favour, Vanier stepped up, going on an 11-2 run, concluding with a three pointer over Nguyen made by Logan Grey.

The Crusaders closed the gap to six points and by the end of the half reduced it to a mere two points.

The third was the closet quarter, beginning with Vanier sinking a pair of foul shots to tie the game up at 45.

Both teams battled back and forth for the entire 10-minute quarter, with the lead being exchanged on multiple occasions.

Vanier's sudden resurgence was a delight to a large crowd of supporters in the stands, who not only came out to cheer the team on, but even went as far as painting their faces with the school colours.

However, despite their encouragement, by the end of the quarter Vanier trailed 63-59, thanks to a 6-2 F.H. run; beginning with another three pointer from Nguyen.

The Warriors didn't relinquish the lead in the fourth, despite Vanier coming within three or fewer points on multiple occasions.

Although every time Vanier got close, one of the players on F.H. would step up, making a clutch shot to give his team a little bit of breathing room.

After several time outs, the clock eventually ran down. Vanier had ball possession in F.H. Collins' zone when the game concluded.

Following the game, players on F.H. Collins took turns cutting down the net, which coach Jeff Cressman finished off.

Each member of the team will be given a portion of the net, while the rest will be mailed to former Warriors coach Jamie Shaw, who is receiving treatment in Vancouver for an illness.

Nguyen said the game was dedicated to Shaw.

"He's been there for all of us in every single way, he has changed our lives," Nguyen said about Shaw. "This game was totally dedicated for him and we pulled it out so it feels great."

Shaw has coached Nguyen since he was in Grade 9, which, besides F.H. Collins teams, includes Arctic Winter Games and nationals squads.

Nguyen, who is in Grade 12, said he is going to miss playing for F.H. Collins, but added he is looking forward to the challenges of competing at the university level for Augustana.

"This is a good stepping stone and I feel like I have gotten so much better throughout the years."

Nguyen wasn't surprised how close Wednesday's game ended up being.

"I knew they were going to fight hard," he said about Vanier. "They have a great coach, they have strong players, so I knew that they were going to be there."

Sean McCarron, head coach for Vanier's boys' team, said he wasn't disappointed about losing the game.

"All I have ever asked these guys to do was to come out and work their butt off and not fold under pressure and tonight they didn't fold," he said. "After going down early, we very well could have tanked and this could have been a 30 point blowout because F.H. is so explosive.

"My guys fought back, every single one of them."

McCarron said every single one of his player except one will be eligible to come back next year, adding his team is only going to get better.

"It will be fun," he said. "I would love to start coaching these guys for next year tomorrow."

The girls' final featured a valiant effort from Porter Creek, which battled back on a number of occasions to make a game out of it.

After 30 minutes of play, Porter Creek trailed by only four points, and brought the deficit down to two after a quick basket in the fourth quarter.

However, an 11-2 Warriors run restored a firm lead for the squad that F.H. Collins didn't give up.

This was the third year in a row that F.H. Collins' senior girls' team has finished first at the Yukon Championships.

Ann Jirousek, the head coach of Grade 11/12 Warriors team, said it's always tough watching some of the players move on.

"They are all special groups, but this group especially," she said. "I told them in Grade 8 I will wait until you graduate and then I will retire from coaching and spend time at the rink. And so now they are done, so I might have to retire now," Jirousek added laughing.

With four Grade 9s on the girls' senior team this year and after winning three straight championships, Jirousek admitted that it might be hard to follow through on her plan to retire from coaching basketball.

"There's a lot of good players that are coming up in the next few years, and we have our eye on them," she said. "That's one reason why I might not want to retire."

Claire Abbott, 14, is one F.H. Collins' Grade 9 students on the senior basketball team.

Abbott said it was special winning the championships on the senior team.

"It feels good," she said. "You get to play with really good players, so it makes you want to play well."

Nesha Wright, another Grade 9 student on the Warriors team, said it was an awesome experience playing senior ball. She added she didn't feel nervous playing at a higher level.

"They make you feel really comfortable and the team is really uplifting."

Both Abbott and Wright plan on playing on next year's senior basketball team and hope to continue F.H. Collins' winning streak at the Yukon Championships.