Kibowa leads Gators into consolation final

The Lakeshore Catholic Gators were ecstatic when Willy Kibowa returned to Canada.

The 16-year-old Fort Erie resident was going to The Park School of Buffalo but came to Fort Erie and Lakeshore Catholic at the last minute this fall.

“My dad is from here and he wanted me to be closer to home before I go off to the next stage of my life and to college,” said Kibowa Friday, moments after netting 36 points to lead the Gators to a 75-46 victory over the Holy Cross Raiders in the consolation semifinals of the 68th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament at Notre Dame. “I am just hooping, working out and trying to keep working.”

Lakeshore head coach Shy McFarlane calls Kibowa a game-changer for the Lakeshore program. In three Tribune games, Kibowa is averaging 29 points a game.

“This program has gone through years of turmoil and losing. This year, we have a great group of guys and Willy is a tremendous leader on the team. He leads by example, he’s always talking, he is bringing guys in and he’s got the energy. And he has nothing but smiles even when we are down. He continues to fight and because he stays in the fight the rest of the guys stay in it with him.”

The Grade 11 student has found a home at Lakeshore Catholic .

“The transition was perfect. Coach Shy is really competitive. I have played for a lot of coaches in my past who are very competitive and they love the game and just seeing Shy share that same passion made it very easy to translate into his system,” the 6-foot-3 guard/forward said. “Even translating into the school was easy. The teachers are great, the students are great and the environment is great.”

He has been impressed with the calibre of ball in Canada.

“The Canadian basketball scene has been on the rise and you see a lot of new talent playing D1 in the States. A lot of the Canadian talent is just as good as in the States and now it’s just a matter of us putting ourselves out there.”

His goal is to do just that.

“Always the goal is to get to the next level and try and get better every day,” said the AAU travel player with Elite 6 in Grassroots. He plays on the 3SSB circuit.

Kibowa feels his game has improved this season.

“Now I am starting to become more mature and my basketball IQ has increased. Before, I think I was just out there just rushing and getting shots off and now I know my spots and how to get there,” he said. “I know how to get myself going and I know how to get my team involved.”

The Gators played anything like a team that should be battling it out on the consolation side of the draw Friday night. They lost by three to A.N. Myer in their opening game.

“They came out today and they really executed in the first half, We were able to take Holy Cross’s confidence away right off the bat,” McFarlane said. “The first couple of games of the tournament we played a little bit rough and it wasn’t the style I really wanted them to play but this game something finally clicked and they came out strong. From that point, they didn’t look back. I was very happy with how they played.”

The Gators used suffocating defensive pressure to take control of the game.

“We played them already in league play and we’ve gone over film. We had an opportunity to see where we were able to take advantage of in that game and where we weren’t and one of the big things we noticed was the ball pressure. We knew if we applied enough pressure eventually we could make them make mistakes,” he said.

Holy Cross head coach Austin Anderson tipped his cap to Lakeshore Catholic.

“They are well-conditioned, well-coached and they have a great player in Willy (Kibowa),” he said. “I think that 22-4 second quarter just killed us. It was tough to come back from. The second half was much better. The score doesn’t look great but there are bits and pieces we can build towards.”

The Raiders can find hope in what they did at the Tribune tourney.

“That was probably the best we moved the ball in a long time but sometimes shots don’t fall,” Anderson said. “I think the ball movement was good and there was energy at the end of the game. The guys were into it and bringing that forward to the playoffs and our last tournament will be good.”

STATS PACK

Gators 75 Raiders 46

Policella Homes Players of the Game: Lakeshore’s Willy Kibowa and Holy Cross’ Joseph Young.

For the Lakeshore Catholic Gators: Willy Kibowa 36; Matthew Williams 17; Oliver Micah 12; Simon Reid 4; Evan Winger 3; Ben D. 2; Matthew Acosta 1.

For the Holy Cross Raiders: Joseph Young 17; Matteo D’Aria 9; Vinny Gallicchio 3; Joseph Martinelli 6; Mason Corcoran 5; Terrell Wallace 2; Anthony DiMaurizio 2; Hunter Herring-Dent 1; Dereon Myles 1.

Up next: Lakeshore Catholic advances to the consolation final versus Centennial Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Notre Dame.

Tournament admission: Cash-only admission for the games on Friday and Saturday is $5 for adults and $3 for students.