Final regular season standings:
West division (5): B.C. Christian Academy (7-4); London Basketball Academy (10-6); Notre Dame Hounds (6-10; GTA Prep (4-10); 3 Kings Prep (2-9)
East division (5): Central Tech (12-3); Toronto Basketball Academy (10-4); Canada Top Flight Academy (10-5); St. Mike’s (5-4); Rothesay Netherwood (0-11)
In the opening round, held in Mississauga, 8th-seeded Mississauga GTA Prep v. 9th-seed Rothesay Netherwood.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Toronto Central Tech Blues defeated the 8-9 winner.
The 5th-seeded London Basketball Academy defeated the 4th-seeded Port Coquitlam B.C. Christian x-x.
The 2nd-seeded Toronto Basketball Academy defeated the 7th-seeded Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre of Dame Hounds x-x.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Ottawa Canada Top Flight Academy dispatched 6th-seeded St. Michael’s x-x.
In the bronze medal game Toronto Central Tech dispatched the Toronto Basketball Academy 103-93. TBA led by as many as 10 in the first half as Jace Colley ran amok but Central Tech, playing without hospitalized teammate Rayvonte Ball, rallied in the third, taking command after a dust-up between Colley and Central’s Deiondre Reid, in which technical were levelled against both the players and their coaches. Central Tech’s superior depth, and ability to force turnovers for runout layups, proved the difference down the stretch. “It is one of the things we demand from our players,” Central Tech coach Kevin Jeffers told North Pole Hoops. “We don’t let them have a second of fresh air to breathe, and we make sure the other teams feel that way. We play 11 guys, and we know that eventually that will wear the other team down.” Raheim Sullivan led Central Tech with 23. Jace Colley led Toronto Basketball Academy with 30.
In the final, the Ottawa Canada Topflight Academy topped the London Basketball Academy 105-95 as 6-3 forward Graddy Kanku dominated, effectively attacking the rim and knocking down the open jumpers. “I take what they give me, I’ve been working with my coaches all year on my shot, it still needs some work,” said Kanku told North Pole Hoops. “But I’m proud of all the work we’ve done all year, it’s been an incredible run.” With London forward Josh Inkumsah sitting out the first half with a sore ankle, Kanku scored 17. London led 22-21 after one quarter and were within 55-44 at the half as David Penney scored 20. Inkumsah returned to floor in the second half and went to work in the blocks, promptly scoring 7. But Kanku and Khaleen Sarazin kept attacking off the dribble and pushing the tempo. Top Flight coach Aaron Blakely said Kanku excelled on both ends of the floor. “The thing about Graddy, it’s really difficult for him because he always gets the top defensive assignments, and then we also expect a huge offensive contribution. So, for him to go both directions really speaks to his willingness to be a great teammate. He kind of emerged during the NPA Holiday Challenge, and people were introduced to him, and as time went on he developed even more confidence. We’ve always had confidence in what his capabilities were, but for him to be able to put in a performance like that at the National Championship speaks volumes about his work ethic.” Top Flight led 84-71 after three quarters but London guards David Penney, who scored 31, and Jalen Warren, who scored 35, were twice to rally LBA within 5. Kanku led Top Flight with 29. Sarazin added 14, Aiden Warnholtz 22 and Manel Ayol 19.
By the end of the third CTA extend their lead to 84-71, but the fourth quarter saw London’s David Penney and Jalen Warren work to cut that down to as many as five, but point guard Aiden Warnholtz masterfully quelled each threat with excellent execution down the stretch. “We absolutely love coaching Aiden, because he has listened from day one, he is always one of the leaders in terms of work ethic, and he was one of the people who helped build and stabilize the culture at CTA,” said Blakely. “He’s been one of our true leaders this year, we can not say enough about how hard he’s plays every game, and his willingness to take on tough assignments.” The win was Top Flight’s 13th straight after a shaky 0-5 start to the campaign. “We stuck to the game plan, and I think the biggest thing we did as coaches was got out of the players way a little bit, gave them a little more freedom offensively,” said Blakely. “As we got more comfortable with each other, we were able to gradually evolve into the team that we saw today.”
The bronze medalist Toronto Central Tech: Raheim Sullivan; Deiondre Reid; Rayvonte Ball;
The silver medalist London Basketball Academy: David Penney; Jalen Warren; Josh Inkumsah;
The champion Ottawa Canada Top Flight Basketball Academy: Graddy Kanku; Aiden Warnholtz; Lual Akot; Khaleen Sarazin; Manel Ayol; coach Aaron Blakely