The Cochrane Eagles U13 boys basketball team have completed a trilogy of tournament wins and by going undefeated all season prove why this team of emerging players is one of the best in the province.

Both Eagles teams wrapped up their seasons this past weekend at the Shooting Stars Classic Tournament, in Chestermere, with the boys' team winning the 'A' event and the U17 girls placing second in the 'B' bracket.

The Eagles' Evan Simms goes against a Raymond player.

On their way to an 'A' division tournament win, the U13 boys defeated Calgary's Foundation Youth Basketball 56-39 in a game that was closer than the score indicates, says Head Coach Kris Nielson. They then went on to beat the Outlaws, the top club in Medicine Hat, 99-17.

In the final, they beat the hot shooting and fundamentally solid Raymond team, 66-63. Raymond came back from a 12-point deficit with some timely three-point shooting.

Nielson continues to be impressed with the solid program in Raymond that comes with years of playing together under a solid system structured upon fundamentals of the sport.

"They've had good solid coaching, teaching solid fundamentals. They were just fundamental more sound than we were and probably fundamentally more sound than any other team we played this year. That's why you see Raymond on top of the 4A division even though they are a town of 200 kids."

The U17 girls beat the host Shooting Stars, 43-23, and the Calgary Outlaws, 46-43. They lost 30-43 to the Lakeland College’s club program, a combination of players from Holy Rosary and Lloydminster Comprehensive High School.

Nielson says both teams did unbelievably well in the newly-formed program.

The Eagles program will continue next spring as U17 girls and U15 boys midget community-based teams.