Editor’s Note: Our apologies for not having photos or video from this tournament as our reporter was blocked from taking pictures.
PWC defeats Baltimore Broncos to win Senior B Tourney.
By Jason Pike.
Ferryland, NL – It’s time for another set of game reviews as a Senior B tournament hosted by Baltimore High School in Ferryland wraps up. Once again there were some points of contention early on in this tournament and the events were almost foreshadowed as weeks before I was informed that I was not allowed to record the games in the gym.
This comes not long after I posted game reviews of the Dunne Memorial Academy tournament several weeks ago in which several parents took issue with my writing not being “positive” enough and that I shouldn’t be talking about players fitness because it might hurt someone’s feelings.
Several of those parents were from the Baltimore program and went so far to go on a tirade. Going so far as to put in complaints to my child’s school about my writing.
Imagine someone calling your child’s school because they don’t like how you do your job.
But my suspicions proved only to be correct that the recording of the games was less about any type of safety issues or concerns and more about hiding bad behavior and they did not disappoint as the St Joseph’s Jaguars took on home side Baltimore Broncos.
In a very competitive game it was back and forth right from the tip off. The Jaguars were showing some ring rust as they hadn’t competed since the torment a few weeks ago, constantly throwing away the ball on easy possessions and careless passing.
It was a packed gym and the game ran to levels midnight as time was pushed back due to poor weather affecting travel.
There were never any major leads for either side which proved to be a much more competitive game. But in the end, much like their meeting at the Dunne Memorial Tournament, it came down to a 1-point deficit but this time in the favor of the Jaguars. Much to the Chagrin of the Baltimore players but that’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes. Last time it was in the favor of the Broncos this time the Jaguars but some of the players didn’t take the end results so well.
Yes I know these are just high school kids and hormones and teenage angst play role in the competitive side of things but when the trash talk leads to using expletives referring to someone’s sexual orientation then things have gone too far. We live in a society now that it’s no longer socially acceptable to use such terms and it’s also unfortunate that when more than half of the gymnasium hears it and it’s swept under the rug without any consequences. That was the case here that during the handshake at the end of the game one of the Broncos players referred to a Saint Joseph’s players sexual orientation in a derogatory manner and when said player took offence and parked back at him another player then shoved him physically.
This is not acceptable behaviour in society and especially not in sport. Have coaches stopped teaching or enforcing sportsmanship?
There were no consequences for the vulgar nature of the comments or the physical portion of the event.
Now, lets shed more light on why recording wasn’t permitted in the gymnasium. First a little context to the recording aspect, Not only do I write for this sports publication I also run a YouTube channel in which I provide games and highlights for the players.
This is something I’ve done that started off being requested by players. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the entire basketball scene there is an massive following for the United States based league known as Overtime Elite. Essentially what it is Prep School basketball but it’s run as a pro league and now players are getting drafted straight from that League into the NBA.
We are eons away from that skill level here but the kids like to feel like they are, on some level, in touch with that so by being able to provide them with highlights and game tape they could create their own highlight reels and feel like they are part of something bigger
But in situations like this the ability to do so was crushed before it had a chance to see the light of day. This has become more about the adults and not about the kids but that’s a whole other discussion that needs to be addressed.
The real discussion here needs to be why the coaches and the school are okay with considering that the remarks were technically sexual harassment. In some places you’d be severely punished for that type of action.
The other side of things are that we’ve spent the better part of a century trying to change this type of stigmas and classifications. Even if the intent of the words spoken are not necessarily intended to refer to someone’s actual sexual orientation it demeans the work of so many people who have suffered by such words and all the hard work that has been done to change the way we treat people.
Not punishing that behavior severely speaks volumes to the credibility of people who would then go ahead and criticize a sports news article stating factual information.
On with the review.
Baccalieu vs Roncalli
This was an interesting game to take in as little was known about either of these teams prior to this tournament.
Baccalieu came out flying handling the Roncalli team easily and in fine fashion beating them in the end by more than 35 points. The one confusing thing about this for me was the absence of several known skilled basketball players that attend Roncalli School.
The first thing that I asked some of the parents from the team was where’s Braden crew? Braden was a standout for Team Newfoundland last year as well as at ce23 Academy, Carl English’s basketball school.
There were two other young players with him that were very skilled basketball players who weren’t on the roster as well. All would have definitely made an impact for this team.
The question went unanswered as to why they never even came out and tried out for the team. It’s unfortunate to say the least because this team could definitely have used them.
St Kevin’s B versus Roncalli
St Kevin’s B team are often known to play a very physical game and that remain true in this game as well. The Roncalli Cardinals were massively outmatched physically and technically on the court by a much bigger and Superior St Kevin’s Mavericks B Team. The Mavericks team is comprised of several dominating hockey players that round out the core of the team and their physical prowess is often demonstrated against more smaller and experienced teams which was the case here leaving the Cardinals down and out by the time that the clock ran down.
St. Joseph’s Jaguars vs PWC C
This game started off fast and furious more so on the part of the PWC squad. Though they were on the smaller side they moved the ball fluidically and smoothly with speed and agility making it difficult for their opponents to adjust.
Once again, the Jaguars were showing a bit of rust and without the leadership of their best player showed cracks in the seams. Regardless, throughout that adversity they pulled it together and stayed neck and neck with the PWC Squad for three full quarters. Only in the last 2 minutes of the third quarter things began to slip away and in the fourth quarter it was all PWC as they stretched the points spread from a two-point game to a 20-point game. Dashing the hopes of the St Joseph’s Jaguars to continue the winning streak from their first game against the host Baltimore Broncos.
Baltimore Broncos vs St. Kevins B
In a rematch of the Dunn Memorial Tournament championship the Broncos took on the Saint Kevin’s B Team once again but, in this instance, it was a very different game.
The Broncos came out flying in a last-ditch effort to keep their championship dreams alive in front of a hometown crowd as they faced elimination if they lost. But the Mavericks just didn’t seem to have what was needed in this game and the Broncos ran wild all over them with ease this time around.
St. Joseph’s Jaguars vs Roncalli Cardinals
It was just more headache for the Cardinals in this event as they failed to amass any serious offense and more severely, lacking on defense. It didn’t take long for the Jaguars too build up a quick lead and build on it the entire game finishing the match with a 40 plus point lead ultimately eliminating the Cardinals from any hopes of a playoff run.
St. Joseph’s Jaguars vs Baccalieu
In this semi-final matchup and a win or go home situation both teams were fairly evenly paired. There were no big spread leads in this contest. It was back and forth the entire game with no more than two- or three-point lead at any given time for either time.
In the end, it was truly a nail biter and a couple misplays by the Jaguars and Baccalieu took full advantage of the situation and held on to the ball winning by one lonely basket and ultimately eliminating the Jaguars from the playoffs and dashing their championship hopes.
Baltimore Broncos vs PWC C
In a rematch of their round robin game the Baltimore Broncos faced off once against the PWC C squad in the championship final.
Much like their first meeting, the PWC C team proved their superiority in moving the ball quickly and efficiently. It was a close game right up until the very end. The Baltimore Broncos attempted a three-point shot to win the game but only successfully scored a two-point field goals. That had them fall short of the PWC C team as the Prince of Wales Collegiate Squad were crowned tournament champions
