By his own account, Southridge Storm senior girls basketball coach Paul Chiarenza has been in a lot of third-place games.
"Too many, probably," he laughed, less than a week after his team placed fourth at B.C. single-A basketball championships in Prince George.
So as a seasoned veteran of bronze-medal showdowns, he has a knack for figuring out whether or not a team, usually just one day removed from the disappointment of being bounced from title contention, has a chance for that last spot on the podium.
"It's usually the team that thought it had the best chance at first place that has the toughest time coming back, and getting ready for the third-place game," he said.
And this year, after Chiarenza's senior girls lost the third-place game 66-60 to Princeton, he surmised that his theory held true – at least in part – yet again.
"After our second game, I think that's when the girls realized that they could win the whole thing," he said.
"And Princeton, I think they probably knew they'd be playing for third as soon as they drew Houston in the semifinals."
Houston Christian – the province's top-ranked single-A team in the province during the season – went on to win the championship game 80-63.
But despite finishing just off the podium, Chiarenza was clearly proud of his team, which entered the tournament as the sixth seed, and finished two spots higher.
"Anytime you can do that, it's good," he said.
After a lopsided 87-43 opening-day win over Valemount, the Storm knocked off the tournament's third-seeded Mulgrave Titans on Day 2 to advance to the semifinals, where they lost 73-61 to the host school, Cedar Christian, in front of more than 1,000 fans.
"The feeling I think the girls will remember, more than anything, will be that feeling off waking up the day after beating Mulgrave, and knowing they were one of the best four teams in the province," Chiarenza said. "They represented themselves so well."
Southridge's Grade 11 star Ashley Andreou was named to the tournament's first-team all-star team, and led the provincials in scoring. She averaged 32 points-per-game, and poured in 41 in the semifinal loss to Cedar Christian.
"She's a real talent," Chiarenza said.