(Pictured: Left to Right,
Mangisto Arop, of the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds, doing his
Jordan impression on his final dunk. Bol Kong shows off his picture perfect jumper at the HSBC tourney earlier in the season.)
Western Canada Tournament Recap: 2006
Words by: JJ Adams
Bol Kong and his teammates are kings again. The Saint George's high-flying guard led the Saints to the championship game at the Whillis Harding Western Canada basketball tournament in Kelowna last weekend, where they defeated the 10th-ranked Centennial Centaurs 65-50.
While the Westerns weren't as competitive as in recent years — the absence of the No. 1-ranked Handsworth Royals definitely hurt — it still provided the Saints a chance to fine-tune their game heading into the stretch run to the provincials. "I don't know if it was weak . . . for us, it was a great tournament," said Saint George's coach Brian Lee.
"We play in an independent league in Vancouver, where it's just us and Vancouver College. That leaves us with a big lull late in our season, where we don't have a lot of games to prepare for the B.C.s So a tournament like this, to get in the finals, it's great for us. For that, it's certainly served its purpose. Because, without it, we'd struggle to get games at this time of year because teams are playing a lot of league games."
The Saints did anything but struggle at the tournament Kelowna Secondary School has hosted for the last 33 years, winning their games by an average of 26 points. Bol, the Saints' six-foot-seven swingman, averaged 27 points over three games, including a quiet game-high 28 in the final against Centennial. Saint George's downed the Sheldon-WIlliams Spartans, Saskatchewan's No. 3-ranked team, 81-55 in their opener. The Spartans had no answer for Kong, who dominated inside and out as the provincial team player dropped a game-high 27 points, controlled the boards, and shut down the Spartans' leading scorer, Kolten Solomon. Solomon, a provincial team player who averages 22 points per game, had just three. Point guard Alex Murphy added 15 points for St. George's, B.C.'s No. 2-ranked team. The Centaurs had little trouble in their opener, cruising to a 69-51 over the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds of Edmonton in their opener. Centennial broke open the game with a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter en route to a double-digit victory over the T-birds, ranked No. 2 in Alberta. Elvis Balic led Centennial with 19 points, overcoming the Sheppard duo of Terrance Blake and Mangisto Arop, who had 14 and 16 points, respectively.
The Saints took on the Mennonite Brethren Hawks, previously ranked No. 1 in Manitoba, in their second game. The Winnipeg-based team, led by 6-10 centre Adam Dobriansky — a junior national team player who is heading to Monmouth University (NCAA Div.1) in New Jersey on a full-ride scholarship next year — couldn't hang with the Saints, falling 80-54.
Dobriansky had 17 points, but Kong drained 25 in the win, which saw the Saints rest starters Alex Murphy and Chris MacKay for most of the game. Lee appreciated the chance to use his full bench in the tournament. "Everybody gets a chance to work out the bugs, and it's great for team spirit because everyone feels like they can contribute," said the Saint George's coach. "And, you never know, we might have to rely on someone off the bench to step up, whether it's foul trouble, or, heaven forbid, injuries. So having guys get some floor time in tournaments like this is huge, so we're happy it worked out like this."
Centennial also had little trouble in their second game, knocking off the Raymond Comets, Alberta's fourth-ranked team, 71-50. Lucian Sauciuc, who won the tournament's three-point contest, hit five treys en route to a game-high 24 points for the Centaurs. The Friday results set up a clash of two of B.C.'s top teams in the championship game. The Saints lost the first meeting with the Centaurs, 80-48, in their own tournament at Saint George's, but rebounded to win the next two 85-45 and 71-49. The fourth meeting went much the same as the last two. In the paint, Cents centre Paul Samra got in foul trouble and couldn't find much room to operate between the 6-6 MacKay and 6-5 Brent Clancy. He finished with 11 points, but only had three field goals. Outside, Sauciuc had trouble finding room to shoot with the long arms of Kong harassing him, and was held to just 11 points. The Saints' full-court press baffled the Centaurs ball-handlers, who,
at one point, turned the ball over on four straight trips. An 18-7 third quarter for the Saints put the game away, as Centennial couldn't make up the deficit, which reached 18 points at its highest, down the stretch. "We're pretty happy with where we are," said Lee. "We haven't peaked yet . . . we've still got stuff to work on. We aren't peaking, but I like the direction that we're going in. Guys are working real hard."
OVERTIME: Ross Sheppard's Mangisto Arop won the dunk contest, which
didn't feature any B.C. competitors outside of the host school's Kealey
McDonald and Dean Kymta. The T-Bird's 6-5 grade 10 high flyer brought
down the house on his final attempt with a tongue-wagging, double-pump,
one-handed Jordan tribute from just inside the free-throw line . . .
Saint George's MacKay and Alex Murphy might just be teammates next year. Murphy has committed to UBC, while McKay — who is being courted by CIS schools across the country — has made it known he'd like to stay in B.C., with UBC his No. 1 option. Kong, the most talented player on the team, will play prep school ball in the U.S. next year. "He's going to play there to get some tougher competition, and get some experience for, hopefully, a long NCAA career," said coach Brian Lee. "Both of those guys are next-level guys, and I think they have an opportunity to contribute wherever they go next year."
Raymond finished in third place, followed by the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds in fourth. The Mennonite Bretheren Hawks claimed fifth, the Mount Boucherie Bears sixth, the KSS Owls seventh and the Sheldon-Williams Spartans, eighth. The Bears got in the tournament after a scheduling conflict — the school scheduled the prom for the week of the tournament — forced the Handsworth Royals to withdraw.
AWARDS:
MVP: Bol Kong, Saint George's
First team all-stars:
Alex Murphy, Saint George's;
Chris MacKay, Saint George's;
Elvis Balic, Centennial;
Tim McMurphy, Raymond.
Second team all-stars:
Quinten Dreger, Mt. Boucherie;
Steven Bouw, Mennonite Brethern;
Mangisto Arop, Ross Sheppard;
Morgan Duce, Raymond;
Lucian Sauciuc, Centennial.
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