In the bronze medal match, the Whitehorse Vanier Catholic Crusaders ‘B’ Team defeated the Whitehorse Porter Creek Rams x-x.
In the final, the Whitehorse Vanier Crusaders captured their third consecutive title by edging the Whitehorse F.H. Collins Warriors 83-80. “That was the most competitive game we’ve had all year and it was just great to be a part of,” Crusaders coach Cody Hougen told the Yukon News. “I’m just really proud of the guys. Everyone came together. This is my first year coaching, so I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to be coaching and I’m just happy for them right now.” Guard Noah Kitchen said “we’ve gone undefeated the whole year, but both teams are pretty evenly matched. We get the wind, then we lose it – back and forth, back and forth. Both teams are pretty much evenly matched, so that’s what that was all about.” The Crusaders built six-point lead on three occasions but the Warriors rallied every time. Vanier began the fourth quarter up 57-56, grew it to 77-65, but began the final minute of regulation with a narrow 81-80 lead. Crusader Ian New hit the winning free throw. R.J. Siosan added another free throw with eight seconds left on the clock. “We just held onto that game,” said Hougen. “F.H. made a great push at the end and we’re just lucky to come out with this one. We came together, timeouts were useful, and we were able to regroup and get it done. It was a great game. Both teams made big runs and that’s what it was the whole game. We were just able to keep our head above the water and battle through it.” Chris Carino led the Crusaders with 28. Siosan added 24 and Noah Kitchen 8. Carino is “so valuable to our team because he’s such a level-headed guy and he’s always in the right mindset on the floor and is able to calm the guys down,” said Hougen. “The guys get a little more rattled and he’s just the solid rock on our team who’s able to make big shots and big plays, and he’s still got another year to go.” Kitchen said “this is my last year and it feels good to play with these guys. Some of them I’ve been playing with since the beginning of high school. We went to Western (Canada Summer Games) and all these different tournaments with Yukon basketball. So it feels good to finish the last year, walk out with the gold, and I had a good time playing with these guys. It feels great to be done and to walk out with a gold medal around my neck.” Bryan Hermosa led the Warriors with 27. Ken Valdez added 19. Hougen told the Whitehorse Star that “both teams played their hearts out, and it showed as it was an intense game to be a part of. We had a decent lead with about two minutes left in the game. Then F.H. made a strong run that made it a one-point game in the final 14 seconds. I was extremely proud of the guys for holding off for the win after completely losing the momentum in the final minutes. We had an unbelievable season, going undefeated in the Yukon. We really grew as a team as the season went on.”
The bronze medalist Whitehorse Vanier Catholic ‘B’ Crusaders: Zack Giczi;
The silver medalist Whitehorse F.H. Collins Warriors: Ken Valdez; Bryan Hermosa; Sam Bonar; J.B. New; Michael Tesoro; coach James Shaw
The gold medalist Whitehorse Vanier Catholic Crusaders: Chris Carino; R.J. Siosan; Noah Kitchen; Ian New; Josh Tobias; coach Cody Hougen