Another SOSSA crown for Phoenix

Jakub Labanowicz did it all for the Saint Francis Phoenix senior boys basketball team Friday afternoon in a 57-38 victory over the host Governor Simcoe Redcoats in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA championship game.

Known for his rebounding prowess, the Grade 12 player did just that with 17 boards but he also pitched in with a game-high 20 points that represented his highest scoring output of the season.

“It was a season-high for sure. Maybe last season I would have got lucky and had a higher game,” the 17-year-old said.

Everything was falling for him Friday.

“I was going in, rebounding and making those layups. Our guys were dishing it off to me and I was making them. That’s what was working for me.”

Labanowicz likes scoring but he knows his role on the team.

“I just grab rebounds for our guys and try to get as many shots up for them as I can. Obviously our team is a shooting team and whatever it takes to get Andrew (Ens) or Elijah (Quissua) to shoot more threes. They have a higher chance of making them.”

Rebounding is clearly his forte.

“I feel that I can jump decently and I look where the ball is going and I just go in that direction and try and out-jump people.”

He knows it is important.

“I just like winning and I will do whatever it takes to win. Rebounding is one of the main things in basketball. If you have the basketball, you will be more likely to win.”

Saint Francis coach Jeremy DelaCruz appreciates what Labanowicz brings to the court.

“He is one of a kind. There are days when you want to crush him but he just goes out there and leaves everything out on the court. He does all the little things and he has grown so much in the last year,” he said. “We put him out of position to the four/five spot from the guard spot and now he has really taken it to heart and he loves it. Rebounding is his thing and he is going to go get it. He is the perfect definition of a team player.”

The Phoenix led 13-10 after one quarter and used a 10-0 run to lead 25-13 at the half. Saint Francis then led 38-28 going into the final quarter. The Redcoats cut the lead to eight points halfway through the final quarter but that is as close as they would get.

“We had a rough game this morning and we just weren’t prepared. Today (second game), defensively we were doing it and everything was working right in the first half. The second half we just couldn’t buy a bucket,” DelaCruz said. “We had some good looks and we missed some easy ones and Simcoe played a hell of a game. We fell asleep a little on the pick and rolls and they were hitting their shots and we weren’t getting back quick enough.”

With the win, the Phoenix will look to defend their Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association AA title March 4-6 in Ottawa.

“If we continue to play like we did today in the first half and how we played at the Catholic Classic, I am confident in the guys,” DelaCruz said. “They know what they need to do to be successful. It’s not who we are playing, it is how we are playing.”

Simcoe coach Shaun Feor was pleased with his team’s play.

“I told the boys they have nothing to hang their heads about. Saint Francis sets the bar in this area in terms of basketball programs and we hung tough for the better part of two and half quarters,” he said. “Their depth really got to our lack of depth and we had a couple of key turnovers.”

It was quite the performance for a team coming off a one-win season to giving the defending OFSAA champions a great battle.

“I told the boys that this is all on them. They are the ones coming here day in and day out and putting the work in at practice,” Feor said. “They are doing stuff on their own time as well and putting shots up when the coaches’ eyes aren’t on them. It’s their buy-in and their effort.”

Simcoe still has a chance to go to OFSAA if they can beat Dundas Valley in a challenge game Monday morning.

“I was able to sit down and catch that first game and there are a couple of guys that we have to key in on on Dundas Valley and take them out of the game in terms of what they can do to us,” he said. “If we do that we have a legit crack at OFSAA.”

STATS PACK

Phoenix 57 Redcoats 38

Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Saint Francis’ Jakub Labanowicz with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

For the Saint Francis Phoenix: Labanowicz 20; Jack Ciocca 13; Andrews Ens 13; Elijah Quissua 10; Tommy Goodwin 1.

For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Noah Budgell 18; Reid Oates 12; Ari Steenhuis 5; Anderson Blanchard 3

Up next: Saint Francis advances to the OFSAA AA championships March 4-6 in Ottawa. Governor Simcoe hosts Dundas Valley Monday at 10 a.m. in challenge game to decide second SOSSA berth at OFSAA.

REDCOATS 78 CYCLONE 37

The Governor Simcoe Redcoats advanced to the SOSSA finals with a 78-37 victory over the Zone 4 champion E.L. Crossley Cyclone.

The Redcoats built quarter leads of 20-12, 32-24 and 51-29 to record the victory.

Scoring for the Redcoats were: Noah Budgell 29; Ari Steenhuis 16; Anderson Blanchard 12; Sutter Pilon 8; Emerson Wood 6; Reid Oates 4; Lochlan Belliveau 2; and, Austin Haggarty 2.

Netting points for the Cyclone were: Matthew Kleinsmith 22; Luca Burattini 5; Jayden Thompson 4; Ryan Zucco 4; and Adam Dawson 2.

PHOENIX 54 GRYPHONS 51

Saint Francis advanced to the SOSSA finals with a 54-51 victory over Dundas Valley.

The Phoenix led 18-14 after one quarter and trailed 31-30 at the half and 45-33 after three quarters. Four threes by Elijah Quissua in the fourth quarter helped rally the Phoenix to the victory.

Scoring for Saint Francis were: Quissua 20; Andrews Ens 17; Jack Ciocca 8; Awab Ali 4; Trent Dobson 3; Austin Hinds 1; Nawaf Kigab 1.