Brebeuf hangs on to beat Collegiate
Joel Kibulu will finish his career with the Saint-Jean-de-Brebeuf Lynx senior boys basketball team in a much different position than where he started.
The 17-year-old Hamilton native began his tenure with the team as a point guard and will conclude it as the team’s centre.
“I have grown a bit. I came in at 5-foot-9 and I am 6-foot-1 right now. He needed me to move and run up and down the floor,” Kibulu said, after scoring 13 points to help Brebeuf record a 52-41 victory over the visiting St. Catharines Collegiate Saints Tuesday in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association play.
His roots as a point guard help him with his play in the post.
“It is really good for my handle,” Kibulu said. “I am faster than all the other centres who are a little heavier so I get to blow by them and get layups.”
The Grade 12 student is happy to be back on the floor coming off the latest pandemic pause.
“It’s great. Going more than a month off without basketball was kind of tough and it’s really good to be playing again.”
He admitted he had a little work to do to get back in game condition, especially after going 0-6 from the free throw line.
“I was very rusty,” he said. “I was little off and I need to get back in the gym.”
Brebeuf coach Eric Labonte is a fan of his post player.
“He has developed over the years and is probably one of the better players on the team. He sees the court very well,” he said. “There was a bit of rust tonight but we will bounce back with him.”
Labonte liked how his team started because it allowed it to work on its man-to-man defence in the second half.
“They clawed back into the game in the second half, but if we never practice it, it is not going to become part of our package,” he said. “All in all, I am very happy with the outcome.”
The Lynx were playing their second game in a stretch that will include contests on four straight days.
“It is promising to finish off the season and the kids are motivated to play,” Labonte said. “The kids at this school have always played to compete. The spirit is there and even if we are down 20, they are still on the floor and giving 100 per cent.”
Kibulu is confident his team can be a threat in the playoffs.
“We just need to take it one game at a time and try to get better every game and as a unit. After a month off, we need to get the chemistry back.”
In his final year of high school, Kibulu would love to leave as a zone champion.
“I want to cement my high school career,” he said. “To go out as a winner would be great, especially after the two years off.”
The game was a tale of two halves for the Saints. They trailed 30-10 at the half before outscoring the Lynx 31-22 in the second half, including 18-10 in the third quarter.
“We have only had two practices since the lockdown started so, for us, it was really the first time these guys have played together,” Collegiate co-coach Allison Mauro said. “The first half was just trying to figure out how to play together as a team, what we do and what we don’t do and the second half we figured out how to play as a team again.”
Because of work commitments, Collegiate was missing two of its starters and had to call up a junior to give the squad eight players for Tuesday’s game.
Collegiate, which has had a competitive AA team for a number of years, fell to 0-4 in league play with the loss.
“Both Adria (co-coach Campbell) and myself are doing the junior and senior teams again this year,” Mauro said. “We are starting and focusing on the juniors and rebuilding to have teams for next year. This year, between people not being able to commit because of work and having lower numbers, it is definitely a rebuilding year but we are looking forward to what we are going to have next year.”
STATS PACK
Lynx 52 Saints 41
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: St. Catharines Collegiate’s Kajus Zilinskas with 22 points.
For the Saint-Jean-de-Brebeuf Lynx: Joel Kibulu 13; Hans Kissman 8; Adian Astudillo 6; Arthur Belanger 6; Juan Arbalez 5; Yani K. Pomerleau 5; Dawson Battersby 5; Isaak Martinez 2; Lucas Porada 2.
For the St. Catharines Collegiate Saints: Zilinskas 22; Connor Hammond 10; Colten Joyce 7; Jacob Secuya 2.
