Some of Nanaimo’s high-performance hoops players capped off their summer with medal-winning efforts.
Basketball B.C.’s U16 boys’ and girls’ teams won gold and silver, respectively, at the Western Canadian Basketball Championships in Edmonton last month.
The U16 boys team, featuring Callum Gemma of Nanaimo District Secondary School and Quinn Mirau of Dover Bay Secondary School, defeated Manitoba 58-41 in the gold-medal game July 30. The boys were a perfect 6-0 in tournament play.
B.C.’s U16 girls, meanwhile, were unbeaten until they ran into Alberta in the final and were edged 49-45. Olivia Mjaaland of Wellington Secondary School and Natasha Jensen of NDSS contributed to Team B.C.’s efforts.
Basketball B.C.’s U15 girls’ team placed fourth at nationals the same week in Edmonton, the U17 boys came sixth and the U17 girls and the U15 boys finished seventh. U17 player Tyus Barfoot, a third-year Team B.C. player, was selected as a second-team all-star.
