In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Winnipeg Churchill Bulldogs defeated the 8th-seeded Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets 74-65. The Hornets (coached by Garth McAlpine and Charles Carlos) included Gerald Macalintal, Evan Bettles, Jon Dejesus, Mark Caranay, Joseph Osiname, Daniel Seburn, Raynard Mercado, David Tiede, Jeff Faschauner, Chris Montessa, Jordan Thomas, Michael Ditz and Matthew Chartrand. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions stomped the 12th-seeded Portage Trotters 102-63. The Centurions took command with an 11-0 run late in the first half as their pressure defence asserted itself. Fort Richmond quickly extended its lead to 20 early in the second half and romped. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans edged the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 65-62. Sisler’s biggest problem on offence was that speedy guard, Kevin Tipan, never found a consistent range and was unable to sneak inside for easy scores. Meanwhile, dependable forward Myles Posthumus was able to hit some mid-range shots, but was unable to stay out of foul-trouble, which limited his ability to cause much of an impact on the final outcome. Vincent Massey maintained its defensive intensity for the entire match. The final few minutes were relatively tense. The game came down to a few crucial possessions at the end, with Massey finding a way to score thanks to some shooting from Ezra Ezirim. Tipan was given a good look at a 3 to tie the game, but missed the opportunity, allowing the Trojans to celebrate knocking off the defending champs. The Spartans (coached by S Martin, P Tynes and J Themmen) included Andrew Ladesma, Kevin Tipan, Erwin Dela Cruz, Jordan Javier, Shaun Reyes, Nathan Habte, Jon Taylor, Mike Villanueva, Kain Wagner, Eric Guieb, Myles Posthumus, Daniel Dupont, Fernando Sarmiento and Travis Hrbarchuk. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Winnipeg Miles Macdonell Buckeyes defeated the 10th-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders 73-55. In a sloppy, foul and turnover-plagued affair, the Buckeyes pulled out the win although star forward Dan Penner fouled out. But Crusaders point guard Clancy Doiron also fouled out so St. Paul’s attack was equally ragged, allowing the Buckeyes superior speed and quickness to prove the difference.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies crushed the 9th-seeded Winnipeg Churchill Bulldogs 78-60. The Huskies toiled without star swingman Kevin Oliver, who’d broke his hand in practice. The Churchill Bulldogs played without forward Stosh White, who was on crutches with a foot injury. That left 6-7 Huskie forward Riley Draward to guard star Bulldog forward Dan Purvis-Collins. Huskies coach Schepp inserted Dexter Hughes into the starting line-up. Huskie seniors Matt Pierce, Gil Gapit, and Riley Draward established their presence towards the end of the first half, while Charles Dimaapi distributed the ball effectively. The Bulldogs (coached by Alan Brioland and Che Williams) included Jamal Torres-Garner, Stosh Whyte, Rory Stuart, Rex Salvador, Neil La Find, Moein Shadabi, Jason Park, Carlvern Shonhiwa, Dan Purvis-Collins, Mike Krystik, P.J. Intrater, Ryan Deloli, Josh Demery, Cody Stevens and Dayton Whyte.
The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions dumped the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers 85-75. The Gophers couldn’t handle the Centurions massive center, Adam Wiebe, as neither of their posts had enough mass to muscle him out of the post, or enough height to disrupt his shots. Adding the Gopher’s headaches was the fact that Centurions junior guard Ali Uddin had partly recovered from a wrist-injury and was limiting Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson to outside shots. The Centurions looked like they were having a great shooting day from a number of players, as 3s were falling for Jim Legere, KC Mohammed, and Andrew Sullivan. FRC was also getting plenty of hustle from guard Keshan Sankar, while Andrew Rowan seemed to have little trouble running offence or getting to the hoop. The second half opened with FRC continuing to hit their outside shots and get whatever they wanted on the inside, as they continued to hold a 20-lead. After the Gophers finally began to score, they were able to set up their customary 1-3-1 three-quarter court trap. The Gophers finally did put together a solid run, mostly due to Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and Neil Olukoya scoring in transition, but they never found their range from outside and CJ Jawanda was ice-cold from outside the arc, which left coach Phil Penner apoplectic.
The 3rd-seeded Winnipeg J.H. Bruns Broncos crushed the 11th-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans 98-71. Both teams started out in 2-3 zone, although the Broncos periodically went to a half-court trap that befuddled Vincent Massey. Ryan Willerton hit a few quick buckets for the Trojans but the Broncos Adam Erickson and Tyler Phillips soon shut him down. With guard Kyle Vince picking up three quick fouls, the Broncos also got great shooting from Brayden Anderson. The Trojans also included Jeff Gaudet.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders dumped the 7th-seeded Miles Macdonell Buckeyes 68-47. The Raiders effectively applied full-court pressure against the Buckeyes and junior guard Justin Roper got going early. They also neutralized Buckeye Dan Penner effectively. With Ben Kingdon, Paul Rheault, and Richard Reimer patrolling the paint against the Buckeyes’ volleyball stars, the outcome was never in doubt for coach Randy Kusano’s Raiders. The Buckeyes included Dan Penner, Ryan Skowron.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions edged the top-seeded Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies 61-58. The top-ranked Huskies started without star Kevin Oliver, who was out with a hand injury, and point guard Gil Gapit, who was out the first half as a disciplinary measure. Junior point guard Charles Dimappi was an able replacement, though. But the Centurions were determined to avenge a loss in the conference finals. The referees were whistling everything and each team had four starters in foul trouble after 10 minutes of play, including Huskies’ leader Matt Pierce, and Centurions’ guards Andrew Rowan, Keshan Sankar, and KC Mohammed. The foul trouble hurt the Huskies more than Centurions, although Silver Heights coach Kirby Schepp’s squad was supposed to have been deeper. They often looked tentative on offence. The Centurions played as if they had nothing to lose, with juniors Ali Uddin and Andrew Sullivan stepped in for teammates in foul trouble. Uddin, a junior point guard, was a defensive pest and hit several shots from beyond the arc. The Centurions were hot from the free throw line in the first half, while the Huskies were frosty. The Centurions also kept the ball out of Huskie centre Riley Draward’s hands as centre Adam Wiebe forced him to the perimeter. The Centurions also dominated the boards. The teams traded the lead in the second half. Fort Richmond led 58-56 but a defensive lapse allowed Dimappi to drive for a layup and knot the score. Kieran Mohammed notched an and-one to give Fort Richmond a 61-58 lead. The Huskies set up a final play in hopes of tying it but were called for an illegal screen. Kieron Mohammed paced the Centurions with 16. Andrew Rowan added 12 and Adam Wiebe 10. Riley Draward led the Huskies with 16. Matt Pierce added 12 and Jeral Santos 10.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders edged the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg J.H. Bruns Broncos 65-59. The Broncos limited Raiders guard Justin Roper to 3 points after 30+ minutes, forced the Raiders’ senior forward Ben Kingdon into early foul-trouble and had their top three offensive threats – Kyle Vince, Brayden Anderson, and Randy Kezie – all score double digits. But it wasn’t enough. The Raiders rode a late run to a seven-point lead at the half and began to pull away in the second half as posts Richard Reimer and Paul Rheault dominated the offensive glass. With about 8 minutes left in the game Bruns made an impressive run to cut the Raiders lead to 1 point with less than 4 minutes left, highlighted by impressive offensive displays from Kyle Vince, Kezie, Anderson, and a well-timed 3-pointer from senior guard Mike Ivison. They also caused Ben Kingdon to commit his 5th foul. But Rheault and Reimer ripped down a few more offensive boards and muscled in a few more baskets to give the Raiders a small lead. Justin Roper knifed into the paint for a layup and then iced it at the line. Paul Rheault led the Raiders with 15. Richard Reimer added 13 and Justin Roper 12. Kyle Vince led the Broncos with 21. Brayden Anderson added 14 and Randy Kezie 14. The Raiders led 29-22 at the half.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders stomped the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions 80-46 as grade 11 sensation Justin Roper scored 32, including 7 from beyond the arc. The win gave Raiders coach Randy Kusano his second provincial title. After the opening tip-off, Oak Park began to shred the Fort Richmond 2-3 zone either by establishing Ben Kingdon inside or by having Justin Roper repeatedly hit from deep. As the game wore on, Kingdon took a backseat to Roper’s shooting exhibition while FRC scrambled to find some sort of offence. At one point, FRC cut the Oak Park lead to a manageable margin, using the shooting of guards KC Mohammed and Andrew Rowan, but Roper was resolved to display his shooting touch. Despite a late buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rowan, by halftime the Raiders held a comfortable lead. Things became a little worse for the Centurions in the second half as they not only had to worry about Roper’s hot hand, but soon had to contend with junior Raiders’ guard Mike Iwanchuk dialing from long-distance. Iwanchuk was a starter earlier in the season, but was replaced by senior tweener Richard Reimer towards the end of the season. The disparity between the effortlessness offence of the Raiders and the continued difficulties of the Centurions began to grow as the game trudged onwards. The Centurions start to get unnecessarily fancy with their passes and then proceed to dog it back on defence after committing a costly turnover. With less than 10 minutes left and the Oak Park lead expanding, both teams emptied their benches.
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Justin Roper (Oak Park); Andrew Rowan (Fort Richmond); Keshan Sankar (Fort Richmond); Matt Pierce (Silver Heights); Kyle Vince (JH Bruns); and Ben Kingdon (Oak Park)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies: Gil Gapit; Charles Dimappi; Klifford Kenyon; Kevin Oliver; Rob McGill; Thomas Hedley; Riley Draward; D.J. Levy; Matt Pierce; Harman Brar; Connor Hutsal; Nick Aarnio; Dexter Hughes; Jeral Santos; Chris Conrad; coach Kirby Schepp; assistant Stephen Tackie; assistant Chris Byrnes; assistant Gene Watson; assistant Ian Hayes
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg J.H. Bruns Broncos: Graham Patterson; Arif Pradana; Steve Moxin; Nicolas Voyer-Taylor; Mike Ivison; Brayden Anderson; Chris Klassen; Randy Kezie; Tom Shirtliffe; Adam Erickson; Kyle Vince; Brenden Ward; Tyler Phillips; coach Dick Potter; assistant Ben Trunzo; assistant Norm Froemel
The silver medalist Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions: Andrew Rowan; Keshan Sankar; Daryn Freier; Jim Legere; Keiron Mohammed, Dane Pischke; Peter Smith; Andrew Sullivan; Ali Uddin; Serge Uwimana; Adam Wiebe; Mbuchi Mkanda; Anthony Sannie; coach Kevin Rowan
The gold medalist Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders: Justin Roper; Ben Kingdon; Richard Reimer; Andre Beech; Kerry Bosko; Justin Gauthier; David Grassweller; Mike Iwanchuk; Jeremy Lomonaco; Brett O’Brien; Paul Rheault; Kevin Swanson; Colin Tibbs; coach Randy Kusano; assistant Dan Becker; assistant Darren Klapak