Phoenix claim SOSSA AA hoops crown
The St. Francis Phoenix senior boys basketball team punched its ticket to OFSAA Tuesday with a 78-59 victory over the Saint Paul Patriots.
Playing in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA championship game, the Zone 4 champions grabbed an early lead and never looked back. St. Francis is now off to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ championships in Timmins.
“Saint Paul definitely settled in and gave us a game from there on out,” Phoenix head coach Jon Marcheterre said. “Luckily, we built a lead that gave us breathing room so that we could withstand it.”
St. Francis did what it always does in big games. It used its press to shut down the opposition and then had several players hit big shots whenever the other team got close.
“It is an embarrassment of riches and we have other weapons,” Marcheterre said. “If you want to key on one of our guys and try and shut him down, someone else is prepared to step up and guys come off the bench ready to hit shots.
“Pretty much anyone we put out there is capable of hitting shots or scoring on the inside.”
One player who contributed in a big way Tuesday without scoring any points was Grade 12 point guard Igor M’Baya. The 5-foot-10 player did a fantastic job of distributing the ball and played great defence on Saint Paul’s Jerywn Tutanes.
“It’s a nice definition of a point guard that when we need him to, he will lead us in scoring and step up,” Marcheterre said. “Today, because they bring some pressure and have some defenders that can compete with him, he understands he needs to push the ball ahead and give other guys the opportunity to score.”
M’Baya is not a player who is going to demand the ball or ask that a play be run for him.
“He just goes about his job and cares more about the final score and making sure we win,” Marcheterre said. “It was a good day for Igor even though the stats sheet didn’t necessarily reflect that.”
The 17-year-old is happy to do whatever helps his team win.
“Some days your shots don’t fall and I have to rely on my defence and playmaking ability and making sure the guys are getting their looks,” he said. “And keep everyone’s energy up.”
M’Baya said he might have taken two shots Tuesday, but he doesn’t keep track.
“Even last year I wasn’t the guy who was worried about that,” he said. “I don’t complain because I am really competitive and I just want to win every single game.”
Marcheterre is a confident coach as his team heads to OFSAA looking to improve on the silver medal it won last season.
“We are confident that we are going to go there and compete, but it’s such a difficult tournament to advance through and get yourself in the medal round and win,” he said. “We know that we are ready to compete and the one nice thing is we have the experience on this team when things get tougher and tougher.”
M’Baya would love to see the Phoenix mine gold this year at OFSAA.
“Last year we lost by one and it would be really nicely to go out there this year and make a strong statement.”
This year’s version of the Phoenix is much different from last year.
“Last year, we had a lot of veteran leadership and this year we are a little bit young, but we’re more athletic which helps us with our zone press,” M’Baya said.
The Patriots fell behind 18-4 early Tuesday before rallying to trail 24-15 at the end of the first quarter. Led by Tutanes’ 15 second-quarter points, Saint Paul cut the lead to 32-20 before St. Francis went on an 11-0 run to regain control of the game.
Leading 43-30 at the half, St. Francis extended its lead to 65-48 after three quarters and cruised home with the victory.
“I think we are the two best teams in Southern Ontario and that has been proven by the track record of everyone,” Saint Paul head coach Jeff MacDonald said. “It was difficult to play them because they are very, very good but we played well.
“We could have made a few extra foul shots and started better but we have to play a perfect game to beat them.”
With SOSSA getting an extra berth at OFSAA, Saint Paul will be joining the Phoenix at the OFSAA championships in Timmins.
That didn’t mean the Patriots didn’t want to win Tuesday’s game.
“We are competitive, we work hard and we deserve to go,” MacDonald said.
The Patriots had won 15 of 16 games heading into the SOSSA final and MacDonald feels his squad can contend for a medal at OFSAA.
“Our chemistry is good, we’re playing well and we are showing good success,” he said. “Even though we lost this game, we have had shades of brilliance at different times.”
STATS PACK
Phoenix 78 Patriots 59
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s Player of the Game: St. Francis point guard Igor M’Baya with a great game on defence and distributing the ball on offence.
For the St. Francis Phoenix: Sam Braithwaite (20), Quinton Duemo (17), Sacade Kasamba (16), Connor Landell (14), Nick Hoggan (6), Andres Pelaez (3) and Cam Van Hezewyk (2).
For the Saint Paul Patriots: Jerwyn Tutanes (24), Will Schmahl (15), Jarrel Pappin (11) and John Graovaz (9).
Phoenix 86 McKinnon Park 48
St. Francis advanced to the SOSSA final with a 86-48 victory over McKinnon Park.
Scoring for the Phoenix were Sam Braithwaite (16), Connor Landell (14), Quinton Duemo (14),Andres Pelaez (12), Igor M’Baya (11), Enrico Rescigno (6), Nick Hoggan (5), Luc Fortin (5) and Grady Vandersloot (3).
McKinnon was led by No. 10 with 27.
Patriots 58 Delta 46
Saint Paul advanced to the SOSSA final with a 58-46 victory over Delta.
Recording points for the Patriots were Jerwyn Tutanes (31), Will Schmahl (11), John Graovaz (6), Sandro Guarasci (4), Jarrel Pappin (4) and Dylan Paolone (2).
Leading Delta was C. Quammie (17) and D. Greville (10).
