BY IAN THORPE
It’s a great time of year for sports fans, with final series underway in both professional hockey and basketball. The NBA playoffs, though, are becoming distinctly predictable. This year, for the third straight season, the two teams in the finals are the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs won last year, the Warriors the year before, so this year is the rubber-match for the two superstar-laden rosters.
When it came to high school basketball this past season, the talent was spread across the city. We’ll start at the AAAA level, where the Dover Bay boys won the North Island championships and placed fourth at Islands in Victoria. The Dolphins, coached by Carson Williams, were named as Most Sportsmanlike Team in the tournament. On the roster were players Brayden Turnbull, Ryan MacDonald, Nicholas Schley, Richard Zhang, Ryan Humphries, Graham Dimos, Jordan Gladstone, Aurgha Das, Mouaz Imdakem and Jonathan Wigmore.
At the boys’ AAA level for slightly smaller schools, Nanaimo District Secondary and Wellington fielded the strongest teams. The NDSS Islanders had the edge, downing Wellington in the finals of both the North Island and Islands championships. Both teams then took part in provincials, where NDSS and Wellington placed ninth and 10th respectively.
On the court for the Islanders were Winston Gardiner, James Robinson, Will Fridriksson, Maxime Therrien, Ismael Ndiaye, Hugh Joly, Qwammi Robinson, Cameron Kasook, West Frank, Ben Whiting, Owen Morrison, Joel Bilyk and provincial all-star Anders Cederberg. Coaching the NDSS team was Jacob Thom.
Coaches for the Wellington squad were Graham Giske and Luke Letham. Representing their school were players Alex Staniforth, Yas Tsuda, Ryder Jenks, Kurtis Burns, Brooks Branchi, Iskander Zhaksybekov, Gordon Yam, along with junior players Paul Romanoff, Cole Arsenault and Justin Goodman.
As for senior AAA girls’ competition, Dover Bay was the top local team. The Dolphins won the North Islands, then hosted and placed second at the Island championships which qualified them for provincials. Rick Hart provided the coaching for players Madeline Hart, Sophia Fan, Cara Dunlop, Melody Meadows, Mackenzie Boas, Morgan Heese, Jessica Ory, Mikaela Srdic, Sarah Zucarro, Taylor Matsuo and Emily Till.
Turning to the AA division, Nanaimo District Secondary fielded a strong team during a building season. The NDSS Islanders, coached by Jenna Carver and Shayna Worthington came second at North Islands, third at Islands and just missed qualifying for provincials. Team members were Jenna Falkenberg, Marina Anderson, Baneesha Gill, Mona Peng, Claudia Fletcher, Beth Nailor, Laura Greene, Giselle Soares, Brianna Gray, Jubie Jung and Taylor Olsen.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.
