In the interzone 4-15 playoff, the Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans pounded the Winkler Garden Valley Zodiaks 120-39 as Adam Philpott scored 23, Darcy Hammond 15, Warren Jacobsen 15, Jay Hubbard 14, Dylan Kellington 14 and James Stewart 10. Nick Friesen led the Zodiaks with 10. Brad Loewen added 10.
In the wildcard games: …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Hawks clipped the Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 86-74. The Maroons (coached by Carey Lasiuk, assisted by Jason Pappone) included Jameil Spencer, Justin Liwanag, Nick Brisette, Romeo Maranon, Vern Samson, Nico Villanueva. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Dakota Lancers dispatched the Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets 73-60. The Hornets included Riak Chuang, Sunday Matueny.
In the opening round, held in Winnipeg: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies defeated the 9th-seed Winnipeg JH Bruns Broncos 93-73. The Broncos (coached by Dick Potter, Justin Potter and Ben Trunzo) included J.P. Beachemin, Brodie Berg, Ric Russoli, Ryan Childe, James Cloutier, Dan Funk, John Gray, Cyril Indome, Tyler Johnston, Matt Marjanovic, Josh Wollman, Kevin Wong and Marc Ylagan. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans defeated the 12th-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers 92-49. The Lancers (coached by Dean Favoni) included Chris Rowan and German exchange student Tino Kreymann. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders defeated the Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Hawks 89-52. The Hawks (coached by Jon Goosen, assisted by Paul Doornbos and Tim Kostaniuk) included Jordan Wiebe, Brandon Markiewich, Lucas Tielman, Jeff Tuininga, Dillon Tielman, Zachary Derksen, Tim Ewert, Alex Beaudry, Daniel Carrasco, Matthew Livingston, Stefan Bouw and Adam Dobriansky. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans defeated the 10th-seeded Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 77-68. “We got into early foul trouble and then that dictated the pace in the first half,” Spartans coach Don Thomson told the Brandon Sun. “But the guys played tough defence after the half ended. They responded well. I think we gave up 46 in the first half and 22 in the second. Warren Jacobson led the Neelin offence with 20 one more than teammate Darcy Hammond. Adam Philpott added 14 points and Jordan Nostedt 10. Andrew Vergara led the Kodiaks with 19. The Kodiaks led 46-31 at the half.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions defeated the Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies 90-74. The Huskies (coached by Kirby Schepp, assisted by Mike Flett and Chris Byrnes, managers Aaron hoofer and Ralfted Santos) includes James McGill, Craig Penniston, Amrit Basi, Tyler Forsberg, Eric Zimmerman, Joey Walker, Kyle Owen, Jordan Hutsal and Tim Rossy.
The 4th-seeded Winnipeg College Jeanne Sauve Olympiens whacked the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 82-62. The Spartans (coached by Scott Martin, assisted by P Tynes) included Eric Garcia, Josh Olaes, Jan Soriano, Chris Nery, Lucky Montierro, Ferosh Tailor, Nathanael Negrych, B.J. Popvitch, Kurtis Sansregret, Brad Bullard, Xavier Smith, Alex Babinsky, Jonar Huertas, Abraham Daniels and Jordan Nery.
The 6th-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders stunned the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers 73-69. The Gophers (coached by Phil Penner, assisted by Chester Wojciechowski and Andrew Langtry) included Sidney Ogungbemi-Jackson, Boris Cicak, A.J. Monton, Curtis Robb, Erickson Fillon, Ilya Graifer, Jerrick Celstino, Yard Awegachew, Aminder Singh, Bryce Hoye, Mike Peterson, Brad Nason, Rhodley Lozagi and Mike Pester.
In the last quarterfinal, the 7th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans shocked the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions 82-78 in overtime. The Spartans led by 10 in the second half but Darcy Hammond was hit with a technical and the Centurions rallied to force overtime on a 17-foot jumper by Peter Lumoro with 17 seconds to play. Warren Jacobson led the Spartans with 27. “What we really tried to emphasize was let’s get it into our front court early (in the second half) and he and Darcy were going to win the game down the stretch,” Neelin coach Don Thomson told the Brandon Sun, adding of Jacobson that “he was the guy and he has been at every provincial final. He loves these situations and boy he can bang the drum.” The Centurions (coached by Ogo Okwumabua, Regan Moses and David Day, assisted by Brock Tokar, Suk Singh and Mike Flashtube) included Mike Kebede, Brady Pullman, Grant Rayner, Payden McDougall, Khas Tokar, Peter Lomuro, Andrew Wanjohi, Sean Bammeke, Jeremy Glassco, Joe Holder, Shawn Boyd and Doug Perez.
In the semis, the 7th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans defeated the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 65-57 as Warren Jacobsen scored 25. “It’s a team game but the big shots, I like doing it,” Jacobson told the Brandon Sun. “Ranked seventh and in the finals is a big thing for us. Rebounding was a big key for us because they’re way bigger than us and we controlled tempo.” Jordan Nostedt added 12 points and 14 boards for the Spartans, who outrebounded the Raiders 47-42. Trailing 42-41 midway through the second half, the Spartans ripped off a 15-0 run featuring back-to-back treys from Jacobsen. “We said we had to play a real character game the first five minutes of the (second) half,” said Neelin coach Don Thomson. “I thought our kids really got in their stance and played with good energy. We got sloppy a little bit down the stretch and obviously we’ve gotta work on that, but I’m proud of them. We’ve always said our defence is going to control so many things and I thought that’s what it did.” Dallas Bosko notched 7 for the Raiders, along with 18 boards and 8 blocks. James Horaska paced the Raiders with 10 on 2-14 from the floor. Junard Augustin added 10 and Mike James 8. “I thought our post -kids — (Jason) Hargreaves, (Jaye) Hubbard, (Adam) Philpott, (Dylan) Kellington — did a great job of battling and taking care of the mismatches,” said Neelin coach Don Thomson. “A lot of that credit goes to their focus and sticking to the game plan that we had to run.”
In the other semi, the 4th-seeded Winnipeg College Jeanne Sauve Olympiens dumped the top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions 79-69. “We had to show Glenlawn who was boss, that’s our biggest rivalry in the city right now,” said forward Chris Cobb. “We had to come out and show them who’s boss, we did that and we wanted that trophy (tonight) so we just played as hard as we could.” Guard Justin Comte said “you could pinpoint us as an underdog here, they had all the pressure being No. 1 in the province but we’ve been in there all year and tonight, we came up big.” Nick Lother paced the Olympiens with 27. Dan Lother added 20, Comte 17, along with 8 boards and 2 steals, Chris Cobb 13, along with 16 boards, while Michael Mallin nabbed 12 boards. “We got off to an early lead and I’m just so proud of the intensity of my
kids, we’re a lot smaller than a lot of teams but we played with a lot of heart,” said Jeanne Sauve coach Irv Hanec. The game was tied at 24 when the Olympiens took command with a pair of free throws by Nick Lother. Cam Hornby led the Lions with 17.
In the final, the 4th-seeded Winnipeg College Jeanne Sauve Olympiens dumped the 7th-seeded Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans 81-74 as Dan Lother scored 25, tournament MVP Nick Lother 21, Chris Cobb 13, along with 14 boards, Justin Comte 8, along with 9 boards, while Dan Lother nabbed 12 boards. The Olympiens led by as many as 27 and then withstood a furious Spartan 22-4 rally in the second half. But Nick Lother nailed a trey to ignite a 16-2 run featuring a trio from beyond the arc by Nick and another from twin brother Dan. “We ran the ball up and down the floor, we shot the ball really well, big boards inside, Mike Mallin and I were doing a great job on the boards. We had Nick and Dan shooting the lights out, Justin (Comte) shooting,” Cobb told the Winnipeg Free Press. “Everybody just put in a great effort.” The Olympiens led 42-27 at the half. The core of the Olympiens were also provincial volleyball champs. “Every once in a while, you get a cycle of good kids. We’ve got good kids, very talented kids, right now,” said Olympiens coach Irv Hanec. Neelin coach Don Thomson told the Brandon Sun about the Spartans rally that “I think that’s so characteristic of what these kids have done. It leaves me speechless. They’re a tough group to say goodbye to, that’s for sure. Every day they come in with the same attitude. They’re character kids and they’re going to succeed in life and that’s what it’s really about.” Spartan Adam Philpott said “we never quit. We never fold, we never give up, right to the end and everyone on our team is like that and it’s great that we showed that to the public.” Phillpott paced the Spartans with 19 points and 14 boards. Warren Jacobson added 18, Jordan Nostedt 16, along with 8 boards, and Jason Hargreaves 7. Thomson said “full credit to Sauve, the two twins play with a level of intensity that is so difficult to match and I didn’t think we matched their intensity all night. We dug a 20-foot hole and came out about 18 feet on it but full credit to Jeanne Sauve. I thought their coaching staff had these kids very well prepared, those kids were just so hungry.” Phillpott said “no one knows us and we’re here, we’re in the championship game, and we gave them a run for their money at the end. (It’s special) Coming in and playing Winnipeg teams and making them realize who the Neelin Spartans are and representing our school that way.” Jason Hargreaves said “when we won our first game (quarter final over Fort Richmond), everyone called it a fluke. To make it this tar and lose to a team that really played their best ball all season, it was a great season.”
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Nick Lother (Jeanne Sauve); Cam Hornby (Glenlawn); Dallas Bosko (Winnipeg Oak Park); Warren Jacobson (T.A. Neelin); Dan Lother (Jeanne Sauve); and Chris Cobb (Jeanne Sauve)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions: Jamal Bara; Alex Purvis-Collins; Adam Klowak; Benton Athanaze; Jordan Day; Triston Steadman; Alex Persowich; Cam Hornby; Marc Martin; Tyler Phillips; Dan Penner; Mike Luby; Tyler Ritchie; coach Minich Nowrang; coach Greg Daniels; manager Mark Giasson; manager Tom Davidson
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders: Sean Robertson; Junard Augustin; Derek Allard; Mike James; Eric Johnson; Wayne Coombs; James Horaska; Justin Tipan; Mike Smalley; Steve Toews; Dallas Bosko; coach Randy Kusano; assistant Spiros Kavadas
The silver medalist Brandon T.A. Neelin Spartans: Darcy Hammond; Cory Myers; Jaye Hubbard; Jordan Nostedt; Warren Jacobson; Kelly McGuiness; James Stewart; Adam Philpott; Graeme Matheson; Dylan Kellington; Jason Hargreaves; Cory Taylor; coach Don Thomson
The gold medalist Winnipeg College Jeanne Sauve Olympiens: Justin Comte; Chris Cobb; Sean Kluckowski; Brendan Salakoh; Jared Marks; Nick Lother; Dan Lother; Daniel Fox; Michael Mallin; Chris Thorne; coach Irv Hanec; coach Frank Clark