Standard tournament preview
One of St. Catharines’ premier sporting events returns this Monday with the staging of the 60th Annual Standard High School Basketball Tournament.
“Each year we get very excited the week leading up to the Standard Tournament. It’s a great beginning for the teams as they get ready for their season,” said Randy Conlon, who co-chairs the tournament along with John Pilling. “But this year is extra special as it’s our 60th anniversary. We’ve had a tremendous response from past players, coaches, committee members, BP Sports and the entire basketball community.”
The tournament starts Monday at four locations. The schedule includes: Blessed Trinity vs. Ridley College at 1:15 p.m. and Saint Francis at St. Catharines Collegiate at 2:45 p.m. at Blessed Trinity; Denis Morris vs. Thorold at 1 p.m. and West Niagara vs. E.L. Crossley at 2:30 p.m. at Thorold; Eden vs. Holy Cross at 1:10 p.m. and Greater Fort Erie at Laura Secord at 2:40 p.m. at Holy Cross; and, Centennial vs. Governor Simcoe at 1:10 p.m. and Sir Winston Churchill vs. Smithville Christian at 2:45 p.m. at Governor Simcoe.
Tuesday’s quarter-final games will be staged at Saint Francis, Crossley, Churchill and Eden with the consolation games set for 6 p.m. and the championship matches scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
All the semifinals will be staged Thursday at Ridley College with consolation games at 3 and 4:30 p.m. and championship games at 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Championship night will be held at St. Catharines Collegiate with the consolation final at 5:30 p.m. and the championship at 7:45 p.m.
Merchandise to commemorate the 60th anniversary is available for purchase at https://regattasport.com/ with proceeds being donated to the tournament’s bursary fund. Once on the site, go to ITEAMS, register and follow the instructions. There will be a dropdown menu. You will need to scroll down to Standard Basketball to view items available for purchase.
Below are summaries of the 16 teams taking part in the event:
BLESSED TRINITY THUNDER
Number of returning players: Five.
Key returning players: Michael Akinpehde, Caleb Olomide and Luka Rafanelli.
Key newcomers: Malteo Pesut and Jamie Coldwell.
Strengths: Quickness, agility and teamwork.
Weaknesses: Experience, height and rebounding.
CENTENNIAL COUGARS
Number of returning players: Six.
Key returning players: Alex Bray and Timi Ijaodola.
Key newcomer: Nate Perna.
Strengths: Speed and length.
Weakness: Lack of big game experience.
DENIS MORRIS REDS
Number of returning players: Four.
Key returning players: Joshua Kaufman, Nathan Sansaet and Owen Millar.
Key newcomers: Travis Palmer and DeMarco Perry. Strengths: Guard play and in-game experience.
Weaknesses: Transition game and depth.
EDEN FLYERS
Number of returning players: Six.
Key returning players: Luke Midgley, Luke Johnson, Kai Schatz, Dylan Durlov and Chad Thorpe.
Key newcomers: Xavier Moccio; Josh Sanecki.
Strengths: Highly skilled and excellent basketball IQ.
Weakness: Not as much depth as in recent years.
E.L. CROSSLEY CYCLONE
Number of returning players: Four.
Key returning players: Matthew Kleinsmith and Luca Burattini.
Key newcomer: Ryan Zucco.
Strengths: backcourt has speed and quickness; streaky shooters at all positions; consistent defensive effort.
Weaknesses: Inexperience; consistent play in the low post; depth at multiple positions, especially at forward.
GOVERNOR SIMCOE REDCOATS
Number of returning players: Five.
Key returning players: Lochlan Belliveau, Reid Oates and Sutter Pilon.
Key newcomers: Noah Budgell, Austin Haggarty and Noah Mills.
Strengths: Athletic; balanced attack; desire to compete.
Weaknesses: Young and lacking big game experience.
GREATER FORT ERIE GRYPHONS
Number of returning players: Six.
Key returning players: Noah Gmoser, Nate Jones, Jason Currie and Nick Alix.
Key newcomers: Aiden and Jack Storring, Bo Train and Xander Boake.
Strengths: Speed and guard play.
Weakness: Experience.
HOLY CROSS RAIDERS
Number of returning players: Six.
Key returning players: Owen Bradford-Andrew, Owen Corcoran and Terrell Wallace.
Key newcomers: Nathan Beveridge, Hunter Herring-Dent and Matteo D’Aria.
Strengths: Rebounding; defence; transition offence.
Weaknesses: Three-point shooting; individual shot creation.
LAURA SECORD PATRIOTS
Number of returning players: Five.
Key returning players: Abdi Farah, Nick Hatrick and Ryan Conway.
Key newcomers: Travis Joyce, Abdul Suliman and Lucas Andres.
Strengths: Height and strength.
Weakness: Lack of experience.
RIDLEY COLLEGE TIGERS
Number of returning players: Five.
Key returning players: Parker Emanoilidis (SG), Pranav Wadhawan (G/F) and Tobi Osamiluyi (C).
Key newcomers: Felix Hadzic (PG), Mike Creglia (PG) and David Ekenta-Ifeanyi (PF).
Strengths: Athletic and skilled; deep bench with good guard height and strength.
Weaknesses: Young (no grade 12 age players) and inexperienced as a team.
ST. CATHARINES COLLEGIATE SAINTS
Number of returning players: Four.
Key returning players: Audric Tapanan and Mathew Negrillo.
Key newcomers: Sean Hill, Kadmiel Patrong, Kevin Gumiran and Aerfate Rehemula.
Strengths: Speed and outside shooting.
Weakness: Lacking in height.
SAINT FRANCIS PHOENIX
Number of returning players: Six.
Key returning players: Andrew Ens, Jack Ciocca, Tom Goodwin, Jakob Labanowicz, Nawaf Kigab and Carter MacNeil.
Key newcomers: Elijah Quissua, Austin Hinds, Trent Dobson, Farouk Akasha, Nolan Freel, Ian Allas and Awab Ali.
Strengths: Defence and shooting.
Weaknesses: Size and youth (only four Grade 12s).
SMITHVILLE CHRISTIAN STORM
Number of returning players: Eight.
Key returning players: Jeremy Talsma, Joseph Attia, Silas Breukelman, Kalan Schat and Cole Wiersma.
Key newcomer: Christopher Nyakabasa .
Strengths: Speed and defence.
Weaknesses: Free-throw shooting and turnovers.
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL BULLDOGS
Number of returning players: Eight.
Key returning players: Will McAlpine, Owen Cuthbert and Matteo Scaglione.
Key newcomer: Owen Scott.
Strengths: Defence; size; depth.
Weakness: Big tournament and game experience.
THOROLD GOLDEN EAGLES
Number of returning players: Six.
Key returning players: Isaac Walker, Ryan Kelly and Spencer Fluellon.
Key newcomers: Josh Oseba, Tayte Fraser and Armann Sandhu.
Strengths: Rim protection; aggression; shooting.
Weaknesses: Big game experience and club experience.
WEST NIAGARA WOLFPACK
Number of returning players: Three.
Key returning players: Brodie Heidekamp, Ben Spittal and Ben Unrau.
Key newcomers: Szymon Arkabuz, Julian Sobota and Owen Bowman.
Strengths: Good team defence and good transition offence
Weaknesses: Rebounding and an inside presence on offence.
