In the zone 4/15 playoffs, the Winkler Garden Valley Zodiaks clipped the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 74-63. The Vikings (coached by Brett Nohr) included Zane Anderson, Nathan Chubaty, Jayden Engel, John Fisseha, Yash Hauradhur, Riley Hofer, Kenyi Kubari, Mac Mulligan, Muhepua Riruaka, Robin Roberts, Binyam Zerihun and T.Z. Zerihun.
In the wildcard playoff, the Winnipeg Sisler Spartans dispatched the Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 83-73. The Raiders (coached by Jon Lundtren) included Dorian Bourgeois, Ty Bryant, Zack Coulson, Conor Fagan, Justice Flett, Lucas Gomes, Christian Konu, Presley Solar Mackay, Ben Martens, James Rae, Finley Tait and Jedidiah Wright.
In the opening round of the provincial draw: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers defeated the 9th-seeded Miles Macdonell Buckeyes 84-75. The Buckeyes (coached by Jonathan Janzen, Jeff Shaddock and Aaron Strempler) included Rhyz Abella, Favour Analike, Isaiah Araya, D’Ontea Cameron, Owen Chavez, John Galang, Nkunda Kambaja, Sam Kayinde, Jack Mann, Ben Mensah, Joshua Ngor, Nathan Udoh and Daren Watts. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers torched the 12th-seeded Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs 143-65. The Zodiacs (coached by Walter Giesbrecht) included James Bergen, John Cabuhat, Aaron Doerksen, Matthias Driedger, Wayne Dyck, Peter Enns, Ezra Friesen, Darryl Klassen, Micah Loewen, Julian Penner, Zack Rempel, Jessie Ryman, Tommy Ryman and Hanz Valdez. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers defeated the 10th-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions 72-66. The Centurions (coached by Ryyan Koleric, Ogo Okwumabua and Dan Poperechny) included Josh Adesida, Akinola Akinremi, Nathan Dark, Sam Dosumu-Hathrobe, Teoman Guvin, Addis Hewitt-Mogess, John Ige, Haaroon Kinnarath, Wentao Lai, Keaton McKay, Elvis Music, Tito Obasato, Aman Rai, Sahil Sidhu, Oyidamola Sogeke, Artem Uskov, Adam Zaid and Ali Zargani. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Winnipeg Maples Marauders dispatched the 11th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 95-84. The Spartans included Christian Agacer, Edge Capuno, Navneet Dandiala, Jherome Delos Reyes, Rivaldo Garcia, Jobin Grewal, Chris Grouette, Chan Madut, Matt Medrano, R.J. Millan, Jamon Morrissette, Russell Paredes, Dorian Peiluck and Aiden Salmon.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans dusted the 8th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 97-64. The Clippers (coached by Eric Fernandez and Jai Mendez) included Abdisalam Ahmed, Didi Deng, Braeden Fernandez, Paul Francisco, Ochan Gilo, Opiew Gilo, Ralph Ignacio, Cyrus Kyle, Isaiah Letander, Kalvin Mendez, Markus Mercredi-Dene, Maric Param and Liam Stephenson.
The 4th-seeded Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies edged the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers 89-86. The Fighting Gophers (coached by Phil Penner) included Nathaniel Bangura, Edgardo Cobarrubias, Kohley Dennis, Everrett Findley, Chris Gatchalian, Jayden Guinto, Lado Laku, Troy Penner, Kalen Reyes, Nicarnor Timbang and Payton Yakimishyn.
The 2nd-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders crushed the 7th-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers 100-80. The Pipers (coached by Spiros Kavadas) included Tyrone Caithness, Reno Constant, Jordan Esquillo, Josh Fast, Solomon Friesen, Simon Hodson, Chris Hoffman, Dillon Lambkin, Miguel Olgina, Rayon Palmer, Taha Raha, Kyshawn Ramnauth, Mohammed Sharaka and Theodore Simmons.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers spanked the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Maples Marauders 86-72. The Marauders (coached by Myles Panganiban) included Tanpreet Deol, Dex Feliciano, Harry Gaidu, Jagman Gill, Ezra Leano, Jacob Macalalad, Geromy Monte, Dilkahs Sidhu, Gurniaz Sidhu, Jujhar Singh, Fatehkarn Toor, Gobindkarn Toor, Ryan Valasco and Jerico Yago.
In the semis, the top-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans dusted the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies 100-60. The Trojans led 21-17 after one quarter. The Huskies led 36-31 at the half. The Trojans led 64-47 after three quarters. Kyler Filewich paced the Trojans with 35 on 15-22 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 22 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 4 steals. Jackson Tachinski added 29 on 12-23 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 13 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals. Dami Farinloye notched 13 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Donald Stewart scored 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 12 boards. Lado Kwajok notched 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 2 steals. Joshua Lamoureux added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Nikolas Wysmuluk-Harvey scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Luke Klusa added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Waasay Tariq, Terrell Jordan, Ose Izokun, Andy Meponyashchyy, Lotachukwu Offor, Colin Salzen and Syrel Sookhoo were scoreless. The Trojans hit 44-91 (.484) from the floor, 3-16 (.188) from the arc and 12-24 from the line, while garnering 65 boards, including 31 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 15 assists, 21 turnovers, 5 blocks and 14 steals. Mason Kraus paced the Huskies with 30 on 11-26 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 5-10 from the line, 15 boards, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Kobe Burkett added 13 on 4-7 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 assists and 3 steals. Logan Kraus notched 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Sam Jensen scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Jesse Fedak added 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Charles Lorenzo notched 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 9 boards. Kiran Jayabalan scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Darius Sontag, Ray Ronquillo, Muas Ahmed and Kody Gibbs were scoreless. The Huskies hit 30-74 (.405) from the floor, 12-33 (.364) from the arc and 7-15 (.467) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 22 assists, 21 turnovers, 2 blocks and 11 steals.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded St. Paul’s Crusaders crushed the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers 88-64. The Lancers led 18-15 after one quarter. The Crusaders led 40-35 at the half and 69-45 after three quarters. Luke Cardinal paced the Crusaders with 23 on 9-16 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 1-2 form the line and 5 boards. Zachary Wynne added 16 on 7-16 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jonam Kazadi notched 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Mawa Ottogo scored 12 on 5-12 form the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Cieran O’Hara added 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 10 boards and 4 blocks. Dontae Alexander scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 15 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Ticon Dano added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jasnoor Sandhu scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Michael Clouston, Jack Filmon, Shakur McCurdy, Nathan Carabatsakis and Dylan Duha were scoreless. Duha nabbed 5 boards. The Crusaders hit 35-93 (.376) from the floor, 13-30 (.433) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 62 boards, including 37 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 20 assists, 16 turnovers, 7 blocks and 13 steals. Marcus Foreman paced the Lancers with 15 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 6 boards and 3 blocks. Hubert Sindikubwabo added 15 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 1-2 from line. A.J. Connor notched 14 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 2 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Christian Aye scored 12 on 6-21 from the floor, 0-4 from the line and 21 boards. Keith Black added 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 5 steals. Blake Garing scored 2 on 0-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals, while Alex Krykewich, Elliott Russenholt, Konrad Dyck, Sem Mehretah, Connor Morphy, Rediet Gerezghier, Matthew Foreman, Naol Biru and Josh King were scoreless. Krykewich nabbed 5 boards. The Lancers hit 23-72 (.319) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 12-21 (.571) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 13 assists, 24 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals.
In the final, the top-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans torched the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders 100-60 after leading 22-14, 43-25 and 71-41 at the quarters. Tournament MVP Kyler Filewich told the Winnipeg Free Press that “it feels great. We’ve been working for three years and there’s been a lot of work put in. Just among our team it feels great, with all of our players and coaches, to think of what we’ve accomplished. … We knew that if we played with the confidence that we had and gave it everything we had, we knew we could easily come out with a win. I think we just got great contributions from everyone. Everyone stepped up. All our starters and guys off the bench played well.” Donald Stewart said “I think we really played at a pace, and a style of play, that we wanted. In our conference final, which was a lot closer, we ran into a trap of playing how St. Paul’s wanted us to play. With this one, we really played our style of play, especially on defence. We were really physical and I think St. Paul’s really struggled with that.” Coach Nick Lother said “the guys that are on the court are all able to score, so we become multi-dimensional. When there’s five guys doing it for each other on the basketball court instead of relying on a select few — which we sort of got into a habit of doing at times this year — our offence becomes really a nightmare to guard.” Stewart said “it was a pretty special team dynamic we had. We all cared about each other, whether guys were playing 40 minutes or two minutes in a game.We did it for each other and for our school. We didn’t do it so one guy could score 50 points and get a bunch of headlines. And that was how we treated each other and how we came together.” Kyler Filewich paced the Trojans with 26 on 12-23 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 16 boards, 6 assists and 3 blocks. Jackson Tachinski added 22 on 8-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Donald Stewart notched 16 on 8-13 from the floor, 0-1 from the line, 9 boards and 4 assists. Dami Farinloye scored 15 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 9 boards. Lado Kwajok added 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Waasay Tariq notched 3 on 1-6 from the floor and 0-1 from the line. Terrell Jordan scored 3 on 1-1 from the floor. Nikolas Wysmulek-Harvey added 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Andy Nepomyashchyy scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Lotachukwu Offor added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Syrel Sookhoo scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 0-1 from the line, while Joshua Lamoureux, Ose Izokun, Colin Salzen and Luke Klusa were scoreless. The Trojans hit 42-81 (.519) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 10-18 (.556) from the line, while garnering 64 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 15 assists, 16 turnovers, 7 blocks and 6 steals. Jonam Kazadi paced the Crusaders with 16 on 6-19 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Cieran O’Hara added 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Zachary Wynne notched 8 on 3-5 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Mawa Ottogo scored 7 on 3-13 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Luke Cardinal added 5 on 1-12 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 blocks. Dontae Alexander notched 4 on 2-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Ticon Dano scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Dylan Duha added 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards, while Michael Clouston, Jack Filmon, Shakur McCurdy, Nathan Carabatsakis and Jasnoor Sandhu were scoreless. The Crusaders hit 22-89 (.247) from the floor, 5-23 (.217) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 26 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 7 assists, 12 turnovers, 6 blocks and 6 steals.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Kyler Filewich (Vincent Massey); Donald Stewart (Vincent Massey); Mason Kraus (Sturgeon Heights); Jackson Tachinski (Vincent Massey); Luke Cardinal (St. Paul’s); Jonam Kazadi (St. Paul’s); and player’s choice selection Jesse Fedak (Sturgeon Heights).
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Dakota Lancers: Christian Aye; Keith Black; A.J. Connor; Konrad Dyck; Marcus Foreman; Blake Garing; Rediet Gerezghier; Alex Krykewich; Sem Mehretab; Connor Morphy; Elliott Russenholt; Hubert Sindikubwabo; coach Dean Favoni
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies: Muas Ahmed; Kobe Burkett; Jesse Fedak; Kody Gibbs; Kiran Jayabalan; Sammy Jensen; Mason Kraus; Charles Lorenzo; Dut Makuer; Joaquin Navea; Ray Ronquillo; Darius Sontag; coach Stephen Tackie
The silver medalist Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders: Dontae Alexandar; Nathan Carabatsakis; Luke Cardinal; Michael Clouston; Ticon Dano; Dylan Duha; Jack Filmon; Jonam Kazadi; Shakur McCurdy; Cieran O’Hara; Mawa Ottogo; Jasnoor Sandhu; Zachary Wynne; coach Jeff Laping
The gold medalist Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans: Dami Farinloye; Kyler Filewich; Ose Izokun; Terrell Jordan; Luke Klusa; Lado Kwajok; Joshua Lamoureux; Andy Nepomyashchyy; Lotachukwu Offor; Colin Salzen; Syrel Sookhoo; Donald Stewart; Jackson Tachinski; Waasay Tariq; Nikolas Wysmulek-Harvey; coach Nick Lother