Nanaimo Christian School won the fourth annual senior boys Basketball on the Edge Tournament 47-44 in a nail-biting Saturday, Dec. 8 showdown against Gold River.
Gold River had the lead by a couple baskets up until the fourth quarter.
“We called a time out. They were playing panicked. I told them to relax and move the ball around and they’d be fine,”said NCS head coach James Sijpheer after accepting the trophy at Ucluelet Secondary School gymnasium.
“We knew Gold River would be a really tough team to play. They are well coached. We are just really grateful to Ucluelet Secondary for running a great tournament.”
Nanaimo Christian School senior boys team celebrate after winning the 2018 Basketball on the Edge Tournament hosted by Ucluelet Secondary School. (Nora O’Malley / Westerly News)
The 2018 Basketball on the Edge Tournament MVP went to number 19 Alex Bloedorn from NCS.
“We started off slow, but we have a decent work ethic and our bench is short, but we have good depth and I think we won with heart,” said Bloedorn, a six-foot-five centre.
“We have really good coaching so when we really focus and stick to our game plan it works,” he said.
Ucluelet Secondary School Warriors defeated the Chemainus Cougars 64-57 in a hard-fought B-Final. Warriors head coach Chris Sylvester said his young and energetic team played amazing.
“We are rebuilding, so we are not really talking about the results. We’re looking at every trip down the floor,” said Sylvester.
The Warriors only had two senior players take to the court in the tournament this year.
“I’ve got a nice gutsy group of kids. They are showing a lot of energy and toughness, already at a young age,” said Sylvester.
Warriors number nine Zabriel Lopez was named Player of the Game in the B Final against Chemainus.
“Basketball is the best thing that has happened in my life. I want to be a pro basketball player when I grow up. This is just the beginning,” said the Grade 9 USS student.
READ MORE: New Canada Elite Basketball League partners with Canada Basketball (Dec. 6, 2018)
READ MORE: Hall of famer Steve Nash changed game of basketball: high school coach (Sept. 6, 2018)
For Warriors number seven Bryson George, this will be his third year playing basketball for Ucluelet.
“This wasn’t really a tournament we were looking to win. We were just trying to improve all the new players,” said George.
“Halfway through the tournament, we started becoming a team. We’re going to do really well. We had some new players, so we had to get a chemistry to really beat a team,” he said.
Both the boys and girls USS basketball teams head to Belmont Dec. 15-16 to compete in a junior tournament.
nora.omalley@westerlynews.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
