THATCHER — A Gila Valley tradition returns to Eastern Arizona College this month as the Girls and Boys Holiday Basketball tournaments are back after a year hiatus.
The 46th Annual Girls Tournament will take place December 18th-21st. First round games start at 1pm on the 18th with #3 Fort Thomas taking on #6 Safford followed by #4 Morenci vs #5 St. David at 2:30pm. The evening session will feature #2 Thatcher vs #7 Duncan at 6:30pm and the night will end with #1 Pima vs #8 Willcox.
The 2nd round will feature a new time format. December 20th games will be at 10:30am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm. On December 21st the 7th place game will be at 10:30am, the 5th place game at 1:30pm, 3rd place will be decided at 4:30pm and the championship game will be played at 7:30pm.
The 59th Annual Boys Tournament will tip-off on December 20th with new game times as well as the boys first round will coincide with the girls second round. #3 Morenci will open the day against #6 Safford at 9:00am then at noon #4 St. David will take on #5 Duncan. At 3:00pm #2 Pima will be on the floor against #7 Willcox and the opening round will end with a 6:00pm game between #1 Thatcher and #8 Fort Thomas.
Second round games on December 21st will be at 9:00am, Noon, 3:00pm and 6:00pm. The final round will go back to the traditional format with 7th place at 1:00pm and 3rd place at 2:30pm. The evening session will feature the 5th place game on 6:30pm and the championship game at 8:00pm.
The new schedule on the 20th and 21st will feature 4 girl’s games and 4 boy’s games for a total of 8 games each day.
Both championship games will be broadcast on KATO 1230 AM and online at GilaValleyCentral.net.
