Twelve teams representing the four different elementary school boards in town provided a good cross-section of local youth basketball talent as St Benedict Catholic Secondary School hosted the Bears Boys Classic over the weekend.

When the dust settled Saturday afternoon, home court advantage had proven fruitful, with the St Benedict elementary Bears besting Jean Paul II (Val Caron) 42-34 in the final.

St Ben's had advanced to the championship encounter after emerging from a stifling defensive battle opposite the St Denis Tigers with a 19-6 win, while Jean Paul II outscored Valley East rival Pinecrest Public 35-22 in the remaining semi-final.

Aiden Hurley was recognized as "player of the game" in the gold medal encounter, leading the way for St Benedict with a 17-point performance and named to the tournament all-star team.

Joining Hurley on that squad were André Frappier (Jean Paul II), Tristan Simeoni (St Benedict), Nickolas Hillamn (Jean Paul II) and Ethan Jodouin (St Benedict).

The competition marked the second championship banner the Bears' boys team had collected this year as groups representing St James (Lively), Churchill, Monetville, St Charles (Chelmsford), St Paul (Coniston), St Raphael and Macdonald-Cartier took part in the festivities.

First place finishers in the round robin pools included St Benedict (Panda), Churchill (Kodiak), Jean Paul II (Polar) and St Raphael (Koala). The closest game of the weekend came in the quarter-finals as St Denis built up a 16-5 half-time lead, only to hang on for a 25-24 nail-biter over Churchill.