In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons edged the Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans 57-56 in overtime. The Trojans included Dave Sommerfeld, Chuck Schmitt, Keon Filewich. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks nipped the Winnipeg Westwood Warriors 69-68 in overtime. The Warriors (coached by Dave Guss) included Kevin Clelland. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers clocked the Winnipeg Murdoch McKay Clansmen 94-58. The Clansmen included Dwyght Lawson, Paul Roberts. …………………………………………………… The Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings whipped the Winnipeg Miles Macdonnell Buckeyes 81-55. The Buckeyes included Ron Lutzer, Chester Jordan. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers edged the Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers 79-76. The Pipers included Colin Fraser, Chris Cara, Steve Peck, Graham Fraser, Bryan Johnson. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets crushed the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions 97-60. The Centurions included Kevon Kumar, Peter Henry. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders ripped the Winnipeg Pierre Radisson Raiders 78-55. …………………………………………………… The Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen whipped the Selkirk Lord Selkirk Regional Royals 83-53. Royals coach Murray Hamm told the Selkirk Journal that “I was really disappointed. I knew we’d be in tough, but I didn’t think they would beat us by that much. The guys that have carried us all year didn’t have a good game.” Leading scorer Bob Moroz fouled out without scoring. “That was typical of our game,” Hamm said. The Royals (coached by Hamm) also included Bill Johanson, Darren Drummond, Orville Anderson, Jason Sutherland, Dean Burnett, Rick Heidman, Vic Heidman, Ian Inniss, Jeff Mayo.
In the quarterfinals, the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen clipped the Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 66-54. The Plainsmen broke to a 10-0 lead and never relinquished the lead. The margin was 34-22 at the half. “We dug a hole for ourselves,” Oak Park coach Randy Kusano told the Brandon Sun. “If you get a 10-0 lead you can do whatever you want.” Plainsmen post Jeff Smith said “I figured to beat Oak Park, everyone had to have a good effort. I wanted to come back and really take charge on the boards” after a subpar night in the opening round. Garth Thomson led Crocus Plains with 22. Smith added 18. Barry Bettig led Oak Park with 19. Thomson “was the best player on the floor, no doubt about it,” said Kusano. The Raiders (coached by Randy Kusano) also included Scott Anderson, Doug Adams, Dave Holf, Gregg Filmon.
The Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings nipped the Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 46-43. The Vikings led 27-26 at the half. “We played very well defensively and did an excellent job on their inside game,” Massey coach Dan Rajnovich told the Brandon Sun. “We got up by nine three times, but they kept coming back.” Dave Nackoney paced the Vikings with 28. Nick Almonte led the Maroons with 20. The Maroons (coached by Ken Kelsch) also included Fred Pinlac, Peter Celitti, Jari Kolu, Roldan Comia, Frank Catojo, Ricki Phillip.
The Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets ripped the Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 71-41 as Steve Berg scored 22. Mike Radchenka led the Tigers with 18. The Tigers (coached by Rick Horaska) also included Jamie Jolly, Ward Hrabi, Len Furber.
In the last quarterfinal, the Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers stomped the Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks 78-48. The Hawks included Jim Olfert, Mark Koop.
In the semis, the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings dispatched the top-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 59-56, as Dave Nackoney scored 23, Phil Penner 13, Lloyd Letkeman 10 and Rob Derksen 10. John Mathieson led the Clippers with 18. Darren Gusnowsky added 11. Big guns Raimey Casiro and Kit Silversides combined for a mere 13. The Vikings outrebounded the Clippers 35-26. Nackoney told the Brandon Sun that “we knew Kelvin’s offence. We knew what they were going to do before they knew it.” With his team holding a 57-56 lead, Viking forward Rob Derksen took the ball in the offensive zone and dribbled towards the foul line. Tripping on a defender’s leg, Derksen lurched forward and the ball bounded loose. But as he fell, Derksen reached out and slapped the ball to teammate Lloyd Letkeman. Phil Penner iced the win by hitting two free throws with 17 seconds to play. “You realize it’s almost over, so you have to do what you can, to win,” Derksen said of his recovery. “I can’t really say we worked harder than they did,” Penner said. “Dave (Nackoney), Rob (Derksen) and Glenn (Campbell) did a great job on the boards.” The Clippers led 19-13 after one quarter. “Mathieson always plays hard, but other than that, none of them really crashed the boards,” said Derksen. “Maybe they didn’t realize what we were capable of doing.” Clippers coach Hymie Fox said his troops weren’t overconfident because of an earlier 15-point win over the Vikings. “At this time of the year, nothing else matters. We play to win and that’s all.” Penner said “last year we weren’t mentally prepared for the final. We were rookies then, we’re veterans now.”
In the other semi, the Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets clubbed the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 70-53 as Kip Davidson scored 19 and Steve Berg 18. Garth Thomson led the Plainsmen with 24. Jeff Smith added 14. The Plainsmen’s starting point guard, Wally Slomiany, was sidelined by a sprained ankle. The Hornets led 19-5 after one quarter and 38-23 at halftime. The Plainsmen drew no closer than eight. “With two minutes left it really hit me,” Slomiany, propped up by crutches, told the Brandon Sun. “We were losing and I couldn’t do anything. But the guys gave it all.” Plainsmen coach Bill Moody said “at least we made a run at them and didn’t quit.”
In the final, the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings defeated the Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets 77-61. Viking star Dave Nackoney told the Brandon Sun that he was reminded of the movie Hoosiers. “Someone in the movie said, ‘Forget everything around you and concentrate … I thought about that. … They started missing their outside shots (in the third quarter). And then we made a couple of layups and they started losing their composure. They were missing easy inside shots when they had them, and we just managed to take advantage of it and pull away from them.” He added that it was revenge for the loss in the 1986 final. “Over the year we have been thinking about them. We knew we could come back and this was the team we wanted to play in the final more than any other.” Nackoney scored 33, including 23 in the second half, on 11-17 from the floor, 11-5 from the line and 12 boards while being named tournament MVP. Phil Penner added 16 and Lloyd Letkeman 16. The score had been knotted at 30 at the half. “It was the Dave Nackoney show,” Tec Voc coach Joe DiCurzio told the Winnipeg Free Press. “They got him the ball in all the right places. … Basically, Nackoney decided to take over the game, and that’s just what he did. We couldn’t do anything to stop him. He got hot. The rest of the team got hot, and we got cold. We couldn’t make any shots and they were putting everything in.” Viking guards Phil Penner and Lloyd Letkeman easily broke the Hornets press. “To break their pressure, we brought four guys back and sent Dave down court,” said Massey coach Dan Rajnovich. “Then, when he got the ball — and I’ve said it for years — if we get Dave going one-on-one, that’s our best offence.” Nackoney said the Hornet defenders wore down. “The man (Jamie Youd) they had on me was getting tired and I got some easy baskets.” Kip Davidson led the Hornets with 16. Dwight Baquiran added 10 and Youd 6. The Vikings shot 59% from the floor and the Hornets 33%. Letkeman kept aggressively attacking with the penetration dribble. “I figured it was my third year and I’d better show what I had learned,” Letkeman said. “I wasn’t nervous like last year . . . and we stayed in the game mentally. They blew themselves out.” Rajnovich said “it feels good because we don’t have the best all-round talent in the province. We have Dave and a number of shorter guys who shoot the ball. And if you win the last game of the year, you’re successful.”
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Dave Nackoney (Brandon Vincent Massey); John Mathieson (Kelvin); Garth Thompson (Brandon Crocus Plains); Kip Davidson (Tec Voc); Phil Penner (Brandon Vincent Massey); and Rob Derksen (Brandon Vincent Massey)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers: John Mathieson; Dan Gusnowsky; Rainey Casiro; Kit Silversides; Jamie Patterson; Ian Brigham; coach Hymie Fox; assistant Ken Nieman
The co-bronze medalist Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen: Garth Thompson; Jeff Smith; Walt Slomiany; Kelly Dunkley; Paul Rudy; Kevin Brugger; coach Bill Moody; assistant Don Thomson
The silver medalist Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets: Kip Davidson; Jamie Youd; Steve Berg; Dwight Baquiran; Alex Cruz; Frank Rosenfelt; Max Tumolva; coach Joe Di’Curzio
The gold medalist Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings: Dave Nackoney; Phil Penner; Lloyd Letkeman; Rob Derksen; Glenn Campbell; David Jaddock; Rolf Pippert; coach Dan Rajnovich