The Capilano Blues may not have claimed a medal at last weekend's PacWest men's basketball championships but they did score the tournament's biggest upset.
During the March 5 quarterfinal game against the Quest Kermodes, the sixth-seeded Blues managed to stay ahead of the third-seeded Kermodes throughout the contest despite several Quest runs that narrowed the gap to as little as a single point. By the end of the game, the Blues took away the first upset of the provincial tournament, beating Quest 87-82.
The Blues couldn't keep the upset streak going, however, losing 92-69 in the semifinals to second-ranked Langara with a berth in the provincial final and a ticket to the national championships on the line. That loss dropped the Blues into the consolation final, and although it seemed the bronze might be in their grasp by the halfway point of last Saturday's matchup against the Douglas Royals, the Blues lost their chance in overtime, losing 109-97. First-year Blues player Martin Bogajev led the pack, scoring 20 points for the team in that game. Despite missing out on the medals at provincials, the team's quickness on the court and chemistry with one another were their strongest attributes this season, according to coach Jon Acob.
Of the 21 games played during the regular season, the rookie-laden Blues won seven. Although he believes his team has room for improvement, Acob said he was pleased with the way his young players consistently worked together and improved as a team as the season progressed. "The biggest strength of this team is the chemistry of the group. They all got along with each other, they all liked each other and they all trusted each other," said Acob, who just finished his first season of coaching for the Blues.
"We played more as a team as opposed to being individuals, put all agendas aside. Whatever was good for the team was at the forefront and that really showed because that was our style. It didn't matter who scored, it didn't matter who got the rebounds."
Acob said he was also pleased with his team's quick decision-making ability on the court, something he saw improve considerably over the season."The other thing too is that we started to run our fast break style, which I think made it hard for teams to defend because we're not really tall, but we're very quick decision makers."
However a lack of aggressive defensive skills was a major area for improvement, according to Acob, who said the Blues were over reliant on zone defense during games. The team's rebounding also needs improvement for next season he said.
"Defensively we've got to be more aggressive," said Acob, who believes the Blues are also the youngest team in the league right now, making it harder for them to compete against older, more experienced players.
"We had nine first year players and three second year players, so we were probably the youngest team out there."
Acob said that even though the Blues placed sixth out of seven teams in the regular season, the improvements he saw in the team over the course of the season were considerable.
"They grew and they matured and they realized they can play in this league. They didn't play as first year players at the end of the year."
The Capilano Blues women's basketball team was narrowly eliminated from the PacWest quarterfinals by the Camosun Chargers on March 5, with a final score of 68-64. Carmel M'Bikata led all scorers with 22 points to earn player of the game honours for the Blues while Ella Goldschmid paced the Chargers with 20 points.
Prior to the start of the PacWest championship tournament the league announced its award winners and Bogajev snagged one of the major honours, earning PacWest Rookie of the Year status. He also earned a spot on the all-rookie team. The Burnaby South grad finished seventh in the league with an average of 15 points per game and eight in the league with 2.9 assists per game.
Teammate Andrew Morris, a St. Thomas More grad, was also honoured, scoring a spot on the PacWest first-team all-stars. Morris finished second in the league in scoring and third in rebounding with averages of 18.6 and 8.3 per game.
On the women's side Capilano's Michelle Errico and Karyn Nelson were named to the PacWest second all-star team. Errico, an Argyle grad, finished fourth in the league in scoring with an average of 13.3 points per game while Nelson, a Carson Graham grad, placed seventh overall with 7.0 rebounds per game.
