Championship night set for Standard tourney
For the first time in the 24-year history of Blessed Trinity, the Grimsby high school’s boys basketball team has reached the finals of the Standard High School Basketball Tournament.
After defeating Lakeshore Catholic 74-32 and E.L. Crossley 69-47, the third-seeded Thunder punched their ticket to the final with a 82-57 victory over the second-seeded Governor Simcoe Redcoats Thursday night at Ridley College.
“It’s awesome,” Thunder head coach Gabe Diadamo said.
Making a Standard final is a big deal for a St. Catharines high school and Diadamo believes BT feels the same way.
“Grimsby is an extension of St. Catharines and we are in that district,” he said. “As close as we are to Hamilton, St. Catharines is our centre just like it is of any other team in our area.
“Having our principal (Joe Zaroda) who is a St. Catharines guy and a referee this is big for us.”
It’s also big for Diadamo.
“Even though I am a Hamilton guy, this is huge for me because I have never been here before and I am super excited.”
Getting to the final has been a process for Blessed Trinity.
“This is my 12th year coaching for Blessed Trinity and we’ve had some up and down years and we’ve had a few good teams, but this is by far the best team we’ve ever had,” Diadamo said.
What makes this year’s version of the Thunder special is the familiarity between the players.
“These guys have been playing together for a long time between Grimsby basketball and playing on various rep teams,” Diadamo said. “Even if they did split off at various points, they came together at their community school and that’s a nice thing to see.”
Blessed Trinity faces a formidable foe in the final. The St. Francis Phoenix are looking for their third straight title, sixth in the last eight years and eighth in the past 12 tournaments.
“They have been that way ever since I have known them,” Diadamo said. “But you know what? We are not going to take them lightly, but we’re not going to bow down.
“We are going to go out there, play hard and do our best.”
Blessed Trinity hasn’t played St. Francis yet this season, but knows that dealing with the Phoenix press will be key to its success.
“They have always been good at that,” Diadamo said. “We got a good taste of pressure tonight (versus Governor Simcoe) and we are going to use that, build on that and hopefully we can improve for the next game.”
Leading scorers for Blessed Trinity in the tournament are: Filip Gagacev, 13 points per game; Noah Monteforte, 12 points per game; Josh Ens, 11.7 points pr game; and, Zinan Ahmed, 7.3 points per game
“We’re going to watch some game film and get used to their players and see where their weak spots are and go from there,” Monteforte said.
St. Francis advanced to the final with victories over Niagara Christian (69-38), Ridley College (80-48) and Centennial (74-37) in the semifinals. Leading scorers for the Phoenix in the tournament are: Igor M’Baya, 17.3 points per game; Sacade Kasamba, 16 points per game; Sam Braithwaite, 13 points per game; and, Nick Hoggan, 9 points per game.
In the consolation final, the Eden Flyers will play the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons, the defending consolation champs.
After opening with a 60-49 loss to E.L. Crossley, Eden advanced to the consolation finals by knocking off Lakeshore Catholic (59-53) and Sir Winston Churchill (61-29). Eden’s top scorers heading into the final are: Luke Reinaerts, 16 points per game; Peter Pilling, 9.3 points per game; and, Charlie Edgar, 7.3 points per game
Greater Fort Erie rebounded from a 51-41 loss to Ridley College by beating Niagara Christian (68-44) and St. Catharines Collegiate (72-64). Top scorers for the Gryphons heading into the final are: Austin Ladouceur, 18.7 points per game; Micah Stewart, 15.7 points per game and, Ethan Vanatter, 8.3 points per game.
FINALS NIGHT
Where: St. Catharines Collegiate
Consolation final: Greater Fort Erie Gryphons versus Eden Flyers, 5:30 p.m.
Junior all-star game: 7 p.m.
Championship final: St. Francis Phoenix versus Blessed Trinity Thunder, 7:45 p.m.
