SB Basketball @ RSEQ Finals: Bringing Our Best

Why was their offence so good? Multiple shooters? A couple of unstoppable superstars? Run and gun? A disciplined half-court offence? There was no way to know, so we used our three practices leading up to The Big Game to 1) get in as many touches as possible, 2) tweak our man offence, and 3) work on finishing. There was no time, and honestly no need, to reinvent the wheel. X’s and O’s weren’t going to pull off the monumental upset. If we were going to slay Goliath, it was going to take the toughest, grittiest, most muscular game we’d ever played.

 

And on the biggest stage, when it mattered most, the boys brought their best. 

 

For 32 straight minutes, they fought for every inch. Absolute intensity. Never jogging, only sprinting (Luke, Patito). Refusing to lose 50/50 battles (Josh, Daniel, Bo), often ripping the rock right out of their opponents’ hands. Attacking the rim on offence – nothing soft – while assaulting the glass on both ends in a rebounding exhibition (Augie, Bo, Jeremy), I honestly did  not know we had it in us. And most impressively, the most focused defensive effort of the year – with the guards (Patito, Daniel, Luke, Josh) flying around the top, denying passes and dribble penetration, and the forwards (Augie, Jeremiah, Bo, and Player Of The Game Jeremy – 12 points & 12(!) blocks), creating a no-fly zone around their rim, blocking over 20(!) shots and changing just as many.

 

This intense effort turned a one-sided (on paper, at least) #1 vs #8 game into a knockdown drag-em-out it’s-anybody’s-game barnburner. One of those games where every play, every bounce, every call matters. Where the home fans are on the edge of their seats, and the SC parents who made the trip bite their nails. 21-21 at half. 32-28 after three quarters. Tied at 38 with three minutes left. One minute left, down 41-40. Defensive stop. Go down on offence, fouled. Bonus. Hit one of two to tie it up at 41. 30 seconds left. Du Phare plays for one shot. Their best player (#1) dribbles the ball at the top, letting the clock wind down… 20 seconds… 15… 10…

 

I wish I could say the basketball gods decided to smile on us on this day. I wish I could say we got the Disney moment. But with 10 seconds left, their #1 tries to penetrate the left side of our zone, we stop him, make him spin, 5 seconds left, he forces a floater up just over an outstretched arm… and it banks in. A fairytale ending, just not ours.

 

The boys were devastated. So was I. Hence the delay for this writeup. But now that I’ve had five full days to reflect, three things have become clear to me:

Gentlemen, there is nothing else we could have asked of you. You gave all you had. In the biggest game, you brought your best. In sports, you can do nothing greater than that.

 

- Coaches VD & B

 

Overall Record:  13 wins 13 losses      

Points for per game:  47.7     Points allowed per game:  41.4