Mary Ward and Newman capture Classic crowns
The organizers of the Niagara Classic Invitational Elementary Basketball Tournament couldn’t have asked for a better finish to the event, which was restarted in 2024 after an eight-year absence.
In the girls division, which featured a rematch of last year’s final, the defending champion Mary Ward Tigers prevailed 35-33 over the Saint Peter’s Panthers. On the boys side, the St. John Henry Newman Firebirds eked out a narrow 50-46 victory versus the Our Lady or Holy Rosary Guardians. Both games, the 58th and 59th of the tournament, were played Wednesday at Saint Francis.
Saint Peter’s built quarter leads of 13-7, 19-17 and 26-24 in the girls game before the Tigers rallied for the win. The Panthers led until there was 1:28 left in the game before the Tigers scored the final three points.
Player of the game Makayla Scott-Bush led the Tigers with 31 points and Madelyn Ten Den added four. Other members of the championship team were Isabella and Bianca Nero, Jordyn and Riley Quinton, Lucy Teutenberg, Natalia Bruni, Sydney Van Klinken, Riley Swift and Emma MacDonald.
Charlotte Morosin netted 25 points to lead Saint Peter’s and Olivia Sabourin added eight.
Mary Ward advanced to the final by defeating St. Anthony’s, St. Alfred’s, Loretto Catholic and Canadian Martyrs.
“It was intense. We knew coming in we would have to put in our best effort and continue to persevere and the girls definitely showed that from beginning to end so I am proud of them,” Mary Ward coach Donna Renda said. “It was a successful outcome.”
She was pleased with how her team played throughout the tournament.
“We played well. I told the girls to take it one game at a time and we were going to continue to play strong defence, protect the basket, continue to push and do what we had been doing. It worked.”
Saint Peter’s advanced to the final with triumphs against Saint Michael, Loretto Academy, St. John Henry Newman and St. Alfred’s.
“When Makayla comes alive for the other team, she is hard to contain but I think my girls did a pretty good job of it,” Saint Peter’s coach Linda D’Addario said. “They worked hard defensively but some of our shots didn’t fall and we had a few fouls at the wrong time. But they played their hearts out the whole game and I am really proud of them.”
It was a strong week of play for the Panthers.
“Our girls hustled hard. We have some Grade 7s on the team who led us in scoring so it shows good promise for next year,” D’Addario said. “Charlotte can really move the ball and the defence that Skyla (Ragozins) and Olivia provide is amazing, especially Skyla who just plays school ball. The whole team got in in a tight game and they all contributed.”
In the boys game, St. John Henry Newman built quarter leads of 15-10, 26-23 and 46-39 and then hung on in the final quarter. Our Lady of Holy Rosary cut the lead to 49-46 with 18.5 seconds left but that is as close as they would get.
Player of the game Devonte Christian led the Firebirds in scoring with 23 points. Also scoring were Owen Bender (11), Matteo Chiroco (11), Matthew Bergen (2), Leo Procopio (2) and Luca Marino (1). Other members of the winning team were Jordan Fabiano, Keeghan Sarcino, Adriano Carbonaro, Rocky Sacco and Andrew Dekker.
Gulian Giancola topped the Guardians with 12 points. Also scoring for Our Lady of Holy Rosary were Daniel Ukiomogbe (8), Joseph Ukiomogbe (8), David Vincent (8), Chase Lynds (2), Ademide Oni (2) and Marvelous Ottey (2).
The Firebirds opened the tournament with a close loss to Saint Peter’s and then advanced to the final with victories over Mary Ward, St. Kevin’s and Canadian Martyrs.
“It was a great final and we are very proud of the boys because we literally made the team a week ago. We didn’t have much practise but they are a great group of guys and we have a lot of great athletes,” St. John Henry Newman coach Anthony Tham said.
Our Lady of Holy Rosary advanced to the final with wins over Saint Kevin’s, Saint Peter’s, Mary Ward and Loretto Academy.
“We played very well. We won our first two games by quite a landslide which was good for the boys egos but the third game against Saint Kevin’s was a good fight. It was even, went into overtime and we won by three points,” Our Lady of Holy Rosary coach Susan Wasiak said. “This one here was definitely a good fight too.”
She enjoyed watching her team compete in the final.
“I love that there was two professional refs to help run it. It really made for fair play and everything ran very smoothly. I thought these boys put their hearts on the line as you can see by their sad faces. They are athletic, competitive boys and we are very proud of them at the end of the day. Newman just outplayed us and I have to give kudos to Newman. They did a great job.”
Tournament co-chair John Riddell was thrilled with Year 2 of the return of the 32-team tournament. All the teams were from the Niagara District Catholic School Board but the tournament is hoping to add teams from the District School Board of Niagara.
“We did that in the past and we are looking to merge and work together. It would be a great thing for Niagara basketball.”
The origins of the tournament came in the early 1990s when Dave Morris ran a boys tournament out of Dalewood. Denyse Levitt asked John Riddell why there wasn’t a girls tournament and they ended up starting a 32-team girls tournament in the mid-1990s. Eventually Riddell, Dan Sullivan and Stephanie MacSporran organized both tournaments.
Riddell’s favourite part of the tournament is seeing the kids enjoy themselves.
“Watching a child who doesn’t play basketball score a basket and seeing them smile, it is beautiful to watch,” he said. “And watching their grandparents and parents come out and watch, that is the beauty of going back to evening sports. Listening to all the comments from the gyms and from the convenors, the parents and community are loving this.”
