Williams powers Team White to Next 10 win
Liam Williams made an impressive debut at Thursday’s Second Annual Bob Miller Classic All-Star Next 10 Game at St. Catharines Collegiate.
Competing in his first all-star game, the Grade 11 student at Saint Paul hit seven threes en route to a game-high 23 points to lead Team White to a 78-74 triumph over Team Blue.
“I just tried to showcase what I could do on both sides of the court.”
The 16-year-old Niagara Falls resident did just that, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“My shot was there all game. I put it up and it was going in.”
He was excited to play in the game.
“It was definitely an honour to be here even though it’s the Next 10. It is still great.”
The talk in the Team White dressing room before the game was focused on one thing.
“We definitely wanted to win. I didn’t know any of the guys but we meshed a little bit.”
The Pelham Panthers U17 travel player, who has a goal of playing post secondary ball, got to play against one of his travel teammates, Isaak Pino-Martinez of Sir Winston Churchill.
He is already thinking about the next high school season after his Patriots team blew a lead and lost the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AA championship game to Saint Francis.
“It was tough. We got caught up in foul trouble and ended up losing the game. It is definitely motivating. Even now we can’t stop thinking about that game and what we want to do next.”
Earning player of the game honours for Team Blue was Saint Michael’s Hagen Generao, who scored a team-high 17 points, including five threes.
The 18-year-old Niagara Falls resident enjoyed his last chance to play in the all-star games.
“I’m 12B and I am done now. It was pretty good. I could have done more in the season and we could have won a championship but winning player of the game here feels nice,” the 12B student said.
He had one goal going into the game.
“We were trying to win and I was doing whatever I could for the team to win.”
The game was one of the best Next 10 games played.
“It was everybody’s time to shine and everyone was shooting,” Generao said.
It was a night to remember for the Pelham Panther U19 travel player.
“It was just the experience of playing in an all-star game and coming away with the player of the game.”
Generao is heading to Niagara College this fall to study business and he plans to try out for that school’s men’s team.
Team White 78 Team Blue 74
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: White’s Liam Williams and Blue’s Hagen Generao.
For Team White: Liam Williams (Saint Paul) 23; Will Benko (Notre Dame) 13; Tayte Fraser (Thorold) 12; Armann Sandhu (Thorold) 7; Travis Joyce (Laura Secord) 7; Jamie Coldwell (Blessed Trinity) 6; Abdi Farah (Laura Secord); 6; Matteo Villella (Blessed Trinity) 4. Also playing were Matteo Pesut (Blessed Trinity) and Reid Oates (Governor Simcoe).
Team Blue: Hagen Generao (Saint Michael) 17; Francesco Forte (Eden) 11; Simon Reid (Lakeshore Catholic) 9; Matthew Williams (Lakeshore Catholic) 9; Kadmiel Patrong, Collegiate (8); Matteo D’Aria (Holy Cross) 7; Isaak Pino-Martinez (Sir Winston Churchill) 6; Callum Brown (Centennial) 4; Noah Walters (A.N. Myer) 3. Also playing was Noah Whyte (Eden).
