Thunder roll past Gators
Robbie O’Donnell doesn’t take himself or basketball too seriously.
The 17-year-old, Grade 11 student loves to have a good time, on and off the court with the Blessed Trinity Thunder.
O’Donnell was at his best Monday, joking around and having fun, but also contributing with 11 points as the Thunder defeated the Lakeshore Catholic Gators 74-32 in an opening round game of the 57th Annual Standard High School Basketball Tournament at E.L. Crossley.
“I’m very enthusiastic when I’m playing. I don’t play basketball for winning. I play it because I’ve been playing it since I was four,” O’Donnell said. “I love it. There’s rarely a time when you see me out there and I’m not smiling.
“It’s always been like that.”
O’Donnell said even as child he knew the game wasn’t life and death.
“The earliest I can remember is when I was six and we lost in the championship game. My dad said it was OK to cry but I said I had fun,” he said.
O’Donnell, who was born in Hamilton but moved to Texas, grew up in the Lone Star State until returning home with his family for Grade 9 when his father took a new job.
He said the differences between high school sports in Houston and Ontario are stark.
“The football stadium I would play in if I were in Houston holds 25,000. BT has two benches. It’s a big difference but I like it because it’s not as much stress on me,” he said.
Having said that, O’Donnell is aware there is a time and place for everything.
The Thunder are ranked No. 3 at this year’s tournament and have high hopes of qualifying for the final Friday.
“It’s about fun but this year we have a really good team so now I’m not messing around as much,” he said.
Thunder head coach Gabe Diadamo loves O’Donnell’s positive energy.
“He’s a very high energy guy who plays with a lot of personality. He was born with personality to spare,” Diadamo said. “The guys like him and he’s very vocal. He brings a lot to the team.”
On the court, O’Donnell uses his 6-foot-3 frame to good use.
“He’s a big guy who has a lot of good, inside post moves. He’s good with the pump fake and he’s good off the bench,” Diadamo said.
The Thunder raced out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
“We wanted to make sure we didn’t take anything for granted. We wanted to make sure we played a good, solid basketball game and get our confidence up for the rest of the games,” Diadamo said. “I didn’t by any means say this was a guaranteed win. I told them you have to fight for every win and hopefully this builds up their confidence and we go into tomorrow’s game with some momentum.”
Gators assistant coach Elliott Etherington is looking forward to seeing how his charges stack up on the consolation side of the tournament.
“I told the guys I don’t think there is any team in this tournament if they are playing their best and we’re playing our best that they are 35 points better,” he said. “Now that we’re on the consolation side, we have to be ready for anything. We can do it.
“We have a smart group of kids who knew the mistakes they were making.”
Stats Pack
No Limit Performance/Kully’s Player of the Game for Blessed Trinity: Zinan Ahmed.
No Limit Performance/Kully’s Player of the Game for Lakeshore Catholic: Aiden Plante.
Blessed Trinity Thunder: Robbie O’Donnell 11; Noah Monteforte 9; Cole Arnold 8; Dashell Baktawar 8; Colin Brilinger 8; Filip Gagacev 7; Josh Ens 6; Ethan Pretto 6; Lucas Cino 4; Ben Klassen 3; Zinan Ahmed 2. 2 points unaccounted for on scoresheet.
Lakeshore Catholic Gators: Nick Qua 9; Ben Schoalts 6; Aiden Plante 5; Travis Quinn-Hill 4; Samuel Beifuss 4; Tristan Sorge 3; Chance Beauregard 1.
REDCOATS 78 PATRIOTS 27
A dozen players hit the scoresheet at the No. 2 ranked Governor Simcoe Redcoats defeated the Laura Secord Patriots.
Scoring for the Redcoats were: Mason MacEachern 12; Andrew Scott 9; Cal Andersen 9; Darren Johnston 8; Max Grant 8; Duncan Belliveau 8; Mitch McPherson 7; Joe Fusek 5; Ryan Heximer 4; Moe Benthalim 3; Deryck Burke 3; Victor Hayes 2.
Scoring for the Patriots were: Evan Craig 12; Josh Ramnarain 6; Lucas Davidson 4; Ayden Ross 3; Keifer Sonnenberg 2.
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