Basketball fans in Canmore got a chance to witness the intensity we experienced here during the Cochrane Classic.

The junior girls Cochrane High Cobras and Bow Valley Bobcats had another thriller of a final that went down to the final basket during the Rocky Mountain Classic Basketball Tournament in Canmore, last weekend.

In the end, the Cobras once again came out on top, 55-54, in a game that could have gone either way.

Both Cobras coach Tom Knitter and Bobcats coach Kris Nielson continued to be thrilled with the spirited competition between the two local team and they could potentially meet up to five times more this season between RVS divisional play and tournaments.

Coming into the tournament, Cobras head coach Tom Knitter had a gut feeling they would once again be playing the Bobcats in the final.

The Bow Valley Bobcats won silver in the Rocky Mountain Classic. (Photo Courtesy of Shane Powers)

"The atmosphere was very similar to the Cochrane Classic, pretty exciting," says Knitter.

"I think it's really good for the girls as competitors because it teaches them how to compete at a high level and learn how to perform under pressure. They have had to play against each other in two championship games and it's been some of the best basketball I've been around."

Both teams came through their initial two games in the seven-team tournament to advance to the gold final. 

Potentially, the Bobcats and Cobras could face each other in five more games this season and they will likely be hotly-contested to the final buzzer. That includes a game here in Cochrane at Bow Valley High School next Tuesday.

"That's a pretty big game for us," says Knitter.

Tonight, the Cobras junior and senior girls are playing W. H. Croxford in Airdrie in a matchup of the undefeated teams for first place. The junior and senior girls Bobcats are at home against the George McDougall Mustangs on Jan. 31.

The schedule goes wide open again next week after the stops and starts necessitated by school exams and the Christmas break.

The Bobcats, for one, have 11 games packed into a 16-day period. It includes tournaments hosted by Airdrie's Bert Church and Okotoks' Holy Trinity Academy. Entering the second half of their season, they are currently 13-3.

The Cobras are undefeated in their first 11 games of the season. They aren't in the Bert Church tournament, but they will be in Okotoks.