A berth in the final is where all coaches aim to be.

The Archbishop Carney Stars achieved that times two on the weekend.

The AA senior boys and girls basketball teams took care of business on home court en route to their respective Carney Classic tournament championship finals.

The Stars trumped Burnett 72-45 to top the senior boys division, while the senior girls were knocked off 58-41 by AAA No. 8-ranked New Westminster in their final.

The Carney boys were led by tourney MVP Christian Legazpi, while Patrick Simon picked up an all-star honour.

To advance to the final they bested Port Coquitlam rival B.C. Christian 73-35 on the opening day and stopped St. Patricks 70-61 in the semifinal.

"We wanted to start the New Year off with a bang and hosting this tournament gave us [the] opportunity to do this," remarked Stars coach Steve McGinley. "I think the entire team met and further exceeded our team's goals and expectations in this tournament."

In the final, Carney came out at a fever pitch, going on a 23-0 run midway through the first half to stake out an imposing 59-29 advantage. Setting the tone was Legazpi, the team captain, who nailed a team-high 28 points.

This year's Stars are a great mix of veterans and newcomers who've embraced the team concept, the coach noted.

"The strengths of our team are that we are a really fit, quick [team] and like to drive the ball to the hoop_ We use these strengths to fast break the entire game and push the ball quickly up court," said McGinley.

"We will press a team the entire game to gain the advantage of creating turnovers and score on these opportunities."

For the girls, the run included victories over St. Patricks (64-36) and Abbotsford Collegiate (73-29).

"We played great in the first two games of the tournament and won handily, and then we were able to test ourselves against a very strong team from New Westminster in the final," noted Carney senior girls coach Joel Ditson.

"It was a great learning experience for our girls though and we will be looking to feed off of the defensive intensity that we brought against New West in our upcoming games."

The Stars received all-star performances from co-captains Cassandra Hombrebueno and Kayla McFadden, with solid support from Colleen O'Melinn and Grade 10 Daniella Mitchell.

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