With the 2012 NPSAA Championship Tournament just around the corner there will be three days of nonstop high quality prep school basketball, as 12 team’s battle to be crowned the cream of the crop in Canada’s only prep school league at Seneca College Newnham Campus, March 22-24.

Before the brackets are determined the clubs will be divided into four pools of three teams designating the top two seeds in each pool to advance. Of the teams in field will be NPSAA members No.1 ranked REDA Black, REDA Red, PHASE 1 Academy, Metro Prep, The ROCK Academy, Phenix Academy and Tri-County’s prep and high school squads.

Along with the regular members will be teams making their league debut as they join Canada’s only prep school league for its third season come fall. Fighting for a shot to pull an upset will be Hype Academy, Waltham Prep, Oakville Venom and Blues Elite.

With 12 games to get through before the quarter finals there will be some interesting matchups to look for.  

REDA Red vs. Tri-County Prep - Thursday, March 22, 5:30pm

The last two times these teams met at ACTS Fitness and Athletics in Orangeville the games were fast paced and physical with REDA Red coming out on top in the end.

In their meeting on January 28^thit was a late fourth quarter rally led by Martin Dixon-Green that helped REDA overcome a double-digit deficit. The second contest on March 3^rdsaw Shaquille Keith explode for 11 points in the first quarter as the athletic senior carried the team in a tightly contested match.

Though REDA Red has had the edge during the regular season it will be in tough against an impressive front line from the Tri-County side. Led by the length and athleticism of Cudjoe Masuka the team from the Kitchener-Waterloo region bolsters a unique combination of speed and size with Brent Carey caring the load down low.

It will be a battle of speed versus size as the REDA Red squad has been known to thrive in the open court and create havoc with their star tandem of Keith and Dixon-Green leading the charge. Tri-County will look to counter with the size and scoring of Masuka and Carey and will have to hope their guards can contain the athletic backcourt.

PHASE 1 Academy vs. Metro Prep – Thursday, March 22, 7:00pm

In what looks to be one of the more physically gruelling matchups of pool play these two teams will certainly put forth a defensive battle any basketball purist would appreciate.

The gritty and tough persona of Metro Prep has been in place since last season and this year was no different. Led by athletic forward Justin Jarvis the Predators have a legitamet scoring threat with the potential to take over games and when it comes to late game scenarios few are better than senior guard Javon Lamey.

After last year’s Cinderella run through the tournament PHASE 1 Academy won’t be catching anybody by surprise this time around. It was in this tournament a year ago swingman Johneil Simpson put himself in the discussion with some of the upper echelon scorers in the league. With D’Adrian Allan now patrolling the paint and controlling the boards PHASE 1 is a force to be reckoned with.

Both teams pride themselves on a physical brand of defense oriented basketball. Though the game will likely be low scoring the physicality and intensity will be nothing short of spectacular.

REDA Black vs. Phenix Academy - Friday, March 23, 3:00pm

This will likely not be a close one but for anyone interested in seeing the best high school basketball team in the country this is for you.

The No.1 ranked team in the country, REDA Black has been on a tear as of late. After falling to PHASE 1 at the AGBU tournament in December this has been a team possessed. With a handful of contributors, Connor Wood, Kashrell Lawrence and Richard Audu to name a few, the well-oiled machine has been chewing up the competition in 2012.

Despite the talent disparity the Phenix Academy come sporting a roster chalk full of young and promising prospects. The last time the Montreal based club came to Toronto for the Seneca Showcase in December it was Gilda Mulenda who impressed with his ability to get into the paint and score. He’ll be in tough against one of the better defensive backcourts in the country.

The ROCK Academy vs. Oakville Venom – Friday, March 23, 1:30pm

The only NPSAA with no other regular league members in their pool the ROCK will be able to give these new teams a taste of what to expect.

With one of the most athletically gifted lineups in the league, the bouncy tandem of Jalen Griffiths and Jamal Reynolds make the Durham region club a tough team to compete against. Along with the active length those two swingmen provide the guard play has been exceptional throughout the year and if Josh Codinera can recover from an ankle injury they will be a tough out for the remainder of the tournament.

This matchup will provide a look at Oakville as they stack up against one of the more offensively gifted teams in the NPSAA. In order to compete the Venom will need to slow down the pace and try to limit the transition baskets.

In its inaugural season in the NPSAA the ROCK Academy could be the dark house to pull off upset and rise through the tournament with a relatively easy draw in pool play.