Phoenix NCAA AA champs; Irish take AAA crown
The Saint Francis Phoenix senior boys basketball team took the first step towards defending its Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championship Thursday by knocking off the Saint Paul Patriots 73-48 in the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AA championship game.
“It’s a great first step,” Saint Francis coach Jeremy DelaCruz said. “Saint Paul has really improved and have had a fantastic season and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We played them last week in the last game and they made it a battle and we knew coming in they were going to be prepared and scrappy and they were going to work really hard. You can never overlook them because they hit tough shots and they rebound the ball really well.”
The win qualifies the Phoenix for the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championship next Friday at Governor Simcoe where they will take on Dundas Valley at 10:30 a.m.
DelaCruz feels his team is “getting there” in its journey towards another OFSAA gold.
“For us, it is figuring out who we are. Last week at the Catholic Classic was a glimpse of who we could be and we need to make sure that we maintain that. Our guys need to be mentally prepared and ready to go.”
He has been pleased with the play of Grade 12 player Tommy Goodwin as the team’s season winds down.
“He is fantastic. Anything we ask him to do he doesn’t say a word back and he is such a team player. We had some big plans for him earlier in the year but unfortunately he had a wrist injury and that sat him out and put him back a few weeks.”
DelaCruz likes what Goodwin provides the Phoenix.
“He is a big man who can go down low in the post and also hit threes. We are trying to get him to use his power and be a little more aggressive. He has that hockey mentality of making that extra pass but we want him to go and finish.”
The 17-year-old Goodwin was looking forward to having a great season with the Phoenix but then hockey got in the way. Playing for the St. Catharines Falcons AA team, the Grade 12 student got in a fight in a game in Flamborough in mid-November and broke his hand.
“It was tough coming to practice and trying to help out in any way that I could. I came for the mental reps and to learn and get the plays down but it was hard not being able to play.”
He returned to action a week after the Phoenix won the Standard tournament.
“My hand was really weak so it took another week after I got the cast off to get it back. After awhile, it felt the same and I got my strength back.”
He feels he’s 100 per cent back to full health.
“I am getting ready for the later stages of the season and I think the All-Ontario Classic last week really got us going. I feel we were in a little bit of a rut before but we have really jelled as a team.”
Goodwin knows his role on the squad.
“I do whatever I can and whatever the coach asks me to do: rebound; runs plays on defence; get everyone set and talk.”
He agrees with his coach that he needs to look for his shot a little more.
“I need to be more aggressive and not as passive and know that I can score the ball while still relying on my teammates to help me out.”
Saint Paul head coach Michael Doodeman was happy with his team’s beginning but not its finish.
“We started well and we were actually up in the first quarter and then with their tight pressure on defence we made some poor choices and went away from our team philosophy.”
The Patriots went into the game expecting to be in a battle.
“The last game they were up three points going into the fourth quarter. The big part is that they have a big bench and we unfortunately don’t,” he said. ‘Throughout the course of the game — especially when we played on Tuesday and we played again today — we felt the fatigue.”
Doodeman was thrilled with his team’s season.
“I loved it. Saint Paul is a small school and we finished second in the whole Catholic board and we just got better and better throughout.”
Four starters will return to the Saint Paul roster for next season and he expects another good season.
GAME STATS
Phoenix 73 Patriots 48
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Saint Francis’ Andrew Ens with 32 points.
For the Saint Francis Phoenix: Ens 32; Jack Ciocca 10; Austin Hinds 8; Awab Ali 7; Carter MacNeil 6; Nawaf Kigab 4; Jakob Labanowicz 4; Elijah Quissua 2; Farouk Akasha 2.
For the Saint Paul Patriots: Dante DeBenedetti 20; Mark Al Makhoul 9; Mark Cruz 9; Saif Ali 6; Isaac Jordan 4.
Up next: Saint Francis advances to the SOSSA AA championships next Friday at Governor Simcoe.
IRISH 57 THUNDER 55
The visiting Notre Dame Fighting Irish advanced to the SOSSA AAA championships in Saltfleet next Friday with a 57-55 road victory Thursday over the Blessed Trinity Thunder in the NCAA championship game.
Scoring for the Fighting Irish were: William Benko 20; Andrew Benko 17; Trent Groulx 11; Colton Kizlyk 4; Nicholas Capretta 3; and, Devon Devost 2.
Netting points for the Thunder were: Michael Akinpetide 24; Luka Rafanelli 10; Tre’von Higgins 7; Matteo Villa 7; Caleb Olomide 5; and, Jamie Caldwell 2.
