Flyers, Phoenix set to meet again
Dominic Olesin’s off switch doesn’t get much use.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student is a going concern for the Eden Flyers, whether it’s hustling from end to end on the court, working hard on defence, bringing the ball up or driving the basket.
Olesin was all world for the Flyers Tuesday, pouring in a game-high 25 points as the Flyers defeated the Laura Secord Patriots 76-52 in a championship round quarter-final game at the 61st Annual Standard High School Basketball Tournament.
“I’ve always been a fast player,” Olesin said. “I kind of got it from hockey earlier in my life. COVID kind of took a hit in my speed and endurance, but I got that back over the couple years after that.”
Olesin, who plays hockey for fun at CYO level and club ball with the Pelham Panthers, enjoys distributing the ball.
“I’m just the point guard. We have Kai (Schatz), so I know he’s gonna be the option. So when I get the chance to score, I’m gonna go for it, but I don’t see myself trying to be a ball hog.”
Eden coach Jonathon Thorpe chuckled when asked about Olesin’s endless energy.
“He’s like that in practice, just like he is in games,” Thorpe said. “He doesn’t change depending on the situation, up or down, where he’s still going at 100 miles an hour. Sometimes we want him to slow down, but that’s alright. He’s got a lot of energy.”
The Flyers made sure not to take the Patriots, who were ranked 15th, for granted.
“I don’t think we were worried about an upset,” Olesin said. “We just came in with the same plan no matter who we were going to play. We talked before the game how we’re not going to take anybody lightly, especially these guys.”
The Patriots upset the Denis Morris Reds in the opening round and Thorpe wanted to make sure the Flyers didn’t give them any chance to continue their momentum from Monday.
“A really key part of our pregame conversation was let’s not have a letdown, we have to start strong,” he said. “They’re going to come out with a lot of energy, a lot of take-it-to-us sort of attitude, and we need to be ready to absorb that.
“They did start with a bang and our first three four minutes weren’t as good as they could have been, but once we settled in a little bit then we started to get some runs going and separation from them.”
The Pats had difficulty dealing with Eden’s relentless press.
“Yeah, we got a really big, really active group of guys,” Thorpe said. “I would be frustrated playing against our team. You’ve got big guys that are really athletic, jump, shoot, and block the passing lanes well.”
Patriots coach Tim Jabs was thrilled to see his club upset the Reds Monday.
“It was a tough atmosphere yesterday. There was probably at least 300 people in the gym. It was packed, it was loud, and I didn’t know if we were going to show up or not, but we showed up.
“We were ready to go.”
Jabs said he wasn’t necessarily surprised with the outcome.
“I expect to be competitive every single game, no matter who we play. I think that any team can win on any given night, so my expectation is that we compete every single time, no matter who we play,” he said.
Jabs does not want the Pats’ season to be identified with that one upset victory.
“To start right away with a big win was huge, but honestly it was only one game and I’ve been there before where you have an amazing game, you play a good team and you come out with a big win, and then all of a sudden that was the high of your season. I don’t want that to be the high of the season. It’s one game.
“I’m proud of how they played, but I’m not going to dwell on that game. It’s about how we can grow and improve.”
STATS PACK
Flyers 76 Patriots 52
Cat’s Caboose Players of the Game: Dominic Olesin of Eden and Travis Joyce of Laura Secord.
Eden Flyers: Dominic Olesin 25; Kai Schatz 21; Brandon Falk 8; Francesco Forte 8; Josh Johnson 5; Stevan Necakov-Waller 5; Jack McPherson 2; Connor Ashton 1. One point unaccounted for on game sheet.
Laura Secord Patriots: Abdi Farah 15; Travis Joyce 15; Malachi Davis 12; Lucas Andres 6; Max Fretz 2. Two points unaccounted for on game sheet.
Phoenix 66 Bulldogs 47
The No. 1 seed Saint Francis Phoenix turned in another solid effort to defeat the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs.
Saint Francis Phoenix: Jack Ciocca 17; Andrew Ens 14; Elijah Quissua 10; Sadiekie Hayden 6; Austin Hinds 5; Jalen French 4; Awab Ali 3; Mike Arewa 2; Sam Riddell 2. Three points unaccounted for on game sheet.
Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Seth Jafelice 20; Drase Charles 10; Isaak Pino Martinez 10; DeAndre Lindsay 4; Damian Nebesny 3; Toheer Sumbade 2; Triton Schoen 2.
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