In the interzone finals, the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen stomped the Steinbach Sabres 105-69 after leading 60-40 at the half. Len Mauthe paced the Plainsmen with 37 points and 10 boards. Jeff McCallum scored 23. Joel Driedger led the Sabres with 21. The Sabres also included Matt Klassen, Kelly Chabot, Stan Friesen, Richard Carr, Greg Gochkle.
In the wildcard game, the Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute Hawks crushed the Winnipeg Jeanne Sauve Olympiens 83-66. The Olympiens included Macie Mikula, Carl Felix.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions thrashed the 12th-seeded Winnipeg Murdoch Mackay Clansmen 99-68. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders edged the 10th-seeded Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks 73-69. The Hawks included Malcolm McNeil, Troy Plummer. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons nipped the Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers 80-78 in overtime. The Pipers were coached by Al Friesen. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen stunned the 6th-seeded Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 62-58 as Jeff McCallum scored 16 and nabbed 11 boards. Len Mauthe added 15 and 9 boards. The Plainsmen led 32-24 at the half. John Penner led the Kodiaks with 17.
In the quarterfinals, the 9th-seeded Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons defeated the top-seeded (29-1) Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 65-64 in double overtime. “With the heart and determination we’ve got, our kids never say die. It doesn’t really matter who we play … They’re not afraid of anybody,” Maroons coach Brad Purpur told the Winnipeg Free press.
The 4th-seeded Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets clipped the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions 72-56. The Lions included Lee Gilchrist.
The 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Miles Macdonell Buckeyes stomped the 11th-seeded Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 84-64. Len Mauthe led the Plainsmen with 28. “They’re a lot deeper team,” Plainsmen coach Trevor Penner told the Brandon Sun. “And they just run, run, run. We played well, but we got tired.” The Plainsmen (coached by Trevor Penner) also included Jeff McCallum, Todd Palmer, Derek Bailey, Gonz Rodriguez.
In the last quarterfinal, the 7th-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders dispatched the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 55-49. The Clippers included David Teixera, Isaak Le.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Miles Macdonell Buckeyes defeated the 7th-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders 73-72 as Braden Hammond scored 21 and Kris Campbell 19. Joel Wilkie led the Crusaders with 22.
In the other semi, the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets defeated the 9th-seeded Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 75-54 as Aaron Catellier scored 22 and Gary Solilak 18. Alvin Mansilungan paced the Maroons with 21. Tec Voc coach Greg Bouchard told the Winnipeg Free Press that “we knew we’d have to slow them down and not let them run up and down the floor. … I’ve been on the other side (as an underdog). That’s the reason why I was nervous. They were in a win, win situation. If they won great, if they lost (it would be OK). They were supposed to lose.” Maroons coach Brad Purpur said “I’m a little disappointed that we just didn’t play well. We’re a shooting team and nothing dropped for us early. Maybe they figured things would just take care of themselves after Oak Park. No one expected us to win, no one thought we were good enough. Most teams don’t know how to match up against us. Our game is speed. They expect us to quit and we never do. Other teams say we’re too small, that we’re not really a basketball team, but when it’s close at the end of the game, they start to panic.” Maroons’ star forward Marc Carreira, who was held to 6, said “they outplayed us and took us out of our game plan. They had all the momentum. Sometimes days just don’t go your way. I think most guys will be happy once we get over the loss. It just hurts right now.” Purpur said “I’m ecstatic our guys went this far. They do whatever it takes. The smallest guy will take on the biggest guy any day of the week. That’s the way they are.”
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Miles Macdonell Buckeyes defeated the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets 68-47 as Braden Hammond scored 20 and player of the game Rodney Unrah 12. Gary Soliak paced the Hornets with 11. “We’ve waited 25 years for this moment,” said Buckeyes coach Martin Riley. “Nobody picked us to be here today.” Riley said the “incredible” commitment of his team proved the difference. “It was all guts and determination.”
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Paul Unruh (Miles Macdonell); Alvin Mansilungan (Daniel McIntyre); Jim LaPointe (St. Paul’s); Gary Soliak (Tec Voc); Aaron Catellier (Tec Voc); Justin Holmond (Miles Macdonell)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons: Alvin Mansilungan; Marc Carreira; Honesto Manlig; Domar Raphael; coach Brad Purpur
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders; Joel Wilkie; Jim Lapont; Raj Brar;
The silver medalist Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets: Gary Solilak; Aaron Catellier; Elliott Chartrand; Neal Despins; coach Greg Bouchard; assistant Henri Des Santos; assistant Joan Mayhew
The gold medalist Winnipeg Miles Macdonell Buckeyes: Paul Unrah; Braden Hammond; Kris Campbell; Harpal Duggal; Justin Holomond; Paul Horosok; Thu Tran; Bikky Dhalinal; Bryce Kushnier; Dimitri Evdokimov; Kelly Aboud; Mike Stefanyshyn; Matthew Mills; coach Martin Riley; assistant Mannu Duggal; assistant Jeff Shaddock; assistant Milan Holth