The last thing the Collingwood senior boys basketball team did before heading off to play in the AA provincial championships last week was stop by their own school’s sparkling new gym, look up and close their eyes.
They knew that there were no boys basketball provincial championship banners hanging in that gym but as they stood in the centre of their home court they visualized filling an empty space on those walls, immortalizing themselves as the first boys team in school history to win a provincial basketball title.
Then they went to Langley and made that dream a reality.
The Cavaliers claimed their first provincial title with a dominant 68-40 win over the defending champion Blue Jags from Victoria’s St. Michaels University School Saturday at Langley Events Centre. Collingwood turned in a defensive performance for the ages in the first half, limiting SMUS to 12 points in the half – including just two in the second quarter – to open up a 34-12
halftime advantage.
“It was very surreal,” Collingwood head coach Andy Wong told the North Shore News. “I would have never predicted we would be up 34-12 at halftime, and we just had to keep going. … Each quarter we kept resetting the score to the players. That helped the game go by really quickly and in the back of your head you keep thinking this is going really smoothly. Reality didn’t hit until after the game during the ceremony.”
Defence was the calling card for the Cavaliers throughout the tournament as they held all of the opponents to 55 points or less, culminating in the suffocating pressure they applied to the Blue Jags in the final. Collingwood sprung a 1-3-1 zone defence in the second quarter – the first time they’d played zone all tournament – and the Jags were completely befuddled. Collingwood outscored them 18-2 in the 10-minute quarter.
“One of our major points of emphasis was to put SMU in uncomfortable situations,” said Wong. “A big secret weapon of ours was the scouting reports done by Collingwood coach Joel Ditson. We had each of our upcoming opponent’s games filmed and he was very efficient and effective at being able to cut up and point out the tendencies of the players and the offense of the team. His help and coach Siamak Salehi’s help in scouting gave us a huge advantage.”
On the court the Cavaliers were led by the trio of Carter Armstrong, named tournament MVP, and first-team all-stars Jaden Narwal and Dillon Cooper.
Armstrong, a Grade 11 guard, hit four three pointers in the final on his way to 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“Carter played with great passion the whole tournament, on offense and defense,” said Wong. “He hit some clutch threes in the semis and finals that really gave us momentum. He also did a great job of getting our team set up into our offense and the coaches have lots of confidence in his decision making. It’s pretty exciting to know that he’s only in Grade 11 and we get him back for one more year.”
Narwal, known for stuffing stat sheets all year, scored 19 points with 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the final.
“Jaden had another amazing tournament,” said Wong. “He’s our captain, but he’s also our on-court coach.”
Cooper did his biggest damage in a 70-54 win over Lambrick Park in the semifinals, coming one assist shy of a triple double with 13 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
“Dillon is our energy man,” said Wong. “He’s one of the most competitive players I have ever coached.”
Other standouts who helped the Cavaliers play lockdown defence included Brendan Artley, Liam Huebner, Ben Basran and Elias Ergas, a junior national rugby team player who suited up in the final just hours after helping Team B.C. win gold at the Canadian Rugby 7s U18 Championships at BC Place.
Collingwood’s championship win finished up a season in which the Cavaliers went undefeated against all North Shore teams and also went undefeated against AA competition, finishing the year with a 31-5 record and, best of all, a brand new banner.
“It’s cool to know that you’re going to have a life-long connection with these guys,” said Wong. “Our boys had a confidence and an assurance since Game 1 on Nov. 30 that we would win it all. It’s a pretty special group. I told the players after the win that I tell way too many stories about my past teams at Windsor and Carson Graham, and now I get to tell stories for years about us.”
