Green and gold ruled the junior high basketball court on March 8, as the Nobles and Marquise welcomed Ashmont and Mallaig to Glendon School, where the home teams triumphed in the St. Paul Athletic Association (SPAA) Finals.
Glendon coach Daryn Galatiuk recalled how back in 2002, both junior teams went undefeated and won SPAA finals. “This has been our best season for junior basketball since '02,” he said. “I think collectively, our teams only lost two games this year.”
First up, Glendon's junior boys took on the Ashmont Falcons. “The key to our game was playing through the officiating,” Galatiuk said, adding that players started focusing on refereeing “as opposed to playing basketball.”
Despite a slow start, Galatiuk said at critical moments, “our athletes stepped up and made some key baskets.”
Most of the game was close, with a four-point spread separating the teams, but by the fourth quarter, the Nobles had widened the gap to 10 points, buoyed by the energy and cheers of their hometown crowd. Ashmont kept up the fight and put the full court press to use, but couldn't close the gap, losing 37-24.
On the girls' side, the Glendon Marquise would take on the scrappy Mallaig Stingers, who came on strong and took control and the lead in the first half. Marquise coach Sandra Lysy noted at one point, her team was down by 12 points, but her girls never gave up.
But the Marquise girls just kept plugging on, and in the fourth quarter, “you could just feel the momentum shift,” said Galatiuk.
“We took a lead at the end of the game and that was our only lead and we kept it,” said Lysy. The score would stand at 28-26 for the Marquise with seven seconds left and the excitement in the gym continued to mount.
“I haven't heard it that noisy for quite some time,' said Glendon School principal Ken Pshyk, adding the teams put on an amazing show for the crowd, thanks to the “tremendous” job both coaches had done with their teams.
However, Glendon killed the Stingers' chance at a win when a Marquise player threw the ball in and drew a foul. A single basket took the game to 29 – 26 for the Marquise and put the game out of reach for the Stingers.
Lysy was pleased with her girls' efforts, overcoming a deficit in points to win. “A lot of teams would have given up . . . I'm just proud they kept going.”
The next day saw a huge celebration at Glendon School as everyone celebrated SPAA basketball success, with the junior teams winning banners and the senior teams making it to the finals.
“I'm really proud of the fact all four of our teams were in the finals,” said Galatiuk.
Jayden Foley, a Grade 9 Nobles player, noted that he, along with the rest of the boys team, had made it to the finals more than once, but the junior boys hadn't taken the banner in the past few years. “Finally, it's nice to break the second streak,” he said, adding the win was “awesome.”
“It just sucks that the season is over now.”
