In the quarterfinals, the Toronto Parkview Panthers defeated Oakville General Wolfe (now White Oaks Secondary) Wildcats 52-43. Coach Ray ‘Skip’ Letheren said his troop’s full-court pressure proved the difference. “That’s the way we always play. We are totally dependent on forward pressure to get the ball and are inclined to be a little loose in our own end.” Kamal Abunassar led Parkview with 27. Oriel Bryan added 9.
The Scarborough Sir Robert Borden Falcons defeated the Toronto Brockton Rams, who’d won the TSSAA regular season title, 52-48 as Mike Swabey scored 20 and Jerry Morris 15. Both teams were undefeated heading into the quarterfinal (a truly anomalous draw). The Rams included Terry Williams.
The Windsor Shawnee Secondary Dukes edged Oshawa General Vanier Chiefs 55-51 as Mike Kassian scored 20, Fred Bahna 12 and Rick Pittman 10.
In the last quarterfinal, the Welland Westbrook Warriors defeated Brampton Fenton 64-38.
In the semis, the Toronto Parkview Panthers rallied from a second-half deficit to nip the defending champ Scarborough Sir Robert L. Borden Falcons 57-56 as Kamal Abunasser hit a six-foot jumper with 30 seconds to play. Borden led 16-0 at the start and 31-21 at the half. Borden led by 16 heading into the final quarter. Oriel Bryan paced the Panthers with 27. Abunassar added 21.
In the other semi, Windsor Shawnee defeated the Welland Westbrook Warriors 50-40 as Mike Kassian scored 27.
In the final, the Toronto Parkview Panthers defeated the Windsor Shawnee Dukes 62-53. Kamel Abunassar paced Parkview with 23. Fred Butt added 14 and Oriel Bryan 10. Mike Kassian paced Shawnee with 22 points and 16 boards. Larry Gerrard added 15. The Toronto Parkview Panthers received an invitation to participate after the Ottawa champion was prevented from entering because of a teacher’s strike. “This may have been one of my most satisfying years as a coach,” Ray Letheren told the Toronto Star. “The guys went in knowing they were just an extra team filling out the draw but they really got turned on to the whole thing after winning Friday (in the quarterfinals). The Panthers had been runners-up in the TSSAA. The Dukes led 16-9 after one quarter and 32-24 at the half but were not awarded a free throw until two minutes remained in the game. Shawnee coach Dave Robinson told the Windsor Star that “we cannot blame it entirely on the officials. We also made some key mistakes. But there’s no way we could go until the last two minutes before getting our first foul shot, not with them pressing us all the game. Most of our fouls were legitimate. They just weren’t calling them on the other side.” Parkview hit 12-20 from the line, while Shawnee was 1-4. Duke post Rick Laprise fouled out in the fourth quarter. Parkview led 43-41 after three quarters and opened the final frame with a 9-0 run.
The silver medalist Windsor Shawnee Dukes: Mike Kassian; Larry Gerrard; Fred Bahna; Rick Pittman; Ken Caudette; Rick Laprise; coach Dave Robinson
The gold medalist Toronto Parkview Panthers: Kamel Abunassar; Fred Butt; Oriel Bryan; Ted Vandenbrock, Jim Xynis, coach Ray Letheren