Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
EN ROUTE TO VICTORY – Vanier Crusaders player Josh Tobias splits two F.H. Collins Warriors defenders on the way to the basket Saturday at Porter Creek Secondary.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
EN ROUTE TO VICTORY – Vanier Crusaders player Josh Tobias splits two F.H. Collins Warriors defenders on the way to the basket Saturday at Porter Creek Secondary.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
BATTLE TO THE FINISH – The Crusaders outlasted the Warriors 83-80 in the varsity boys final.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
TIMBER! – A Vanier Crusaders player takes a tumble after throwing up a shot.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
DRIVING TO THE RIM – Crusaders player Kelly Mahoney heads to the hoop in the women's championship final.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
COMIN' THROUGH – F.H. Collins player Jay Kelly splits two defenders during Saturday's championship game.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM – Warriors player Galina Roots, centre, takes a hit to make a play.
The Vanier Crusaders senior boys and F.H. Collins Warriors senior girls capped undefeated seasons with basketball gold Saturday.
The Vanier Crusaders senior boys and F.H. Collins Warriors senior girls capped undefeated seasons with basketball gold Saturday.
The Crusaders outlasted the Warriors 83-80 in the varsity boys final, thanks to an MVP performance by Chris Carino, who led all scorers with 30 points.
The girls final saw a balanced F.H. Collins attack put away the Crusaders 67-38. Warriors star Quynh Nguyan led all players with 19 points.
The 2014 Yukon High School Basketball Championships were held at Porter Creek Secondary School.
The Crusaders junior boys also won gold in the Grade 8/9 division, 43-30 over the Porter Creek Rams, while the junior girls final featured an all-F.H. Collins matchup, with the white jerseys beating black 27-25.
The senior boys final was a battle of Filipino stars, with Carino and R.J. Siosan (24 points) eventually beating out Warrior standouts Bryan Hermosa (27 points) and Ken Valdez (19 points).
"Both teams played their hearts out, and it showed as it was an intense game to be a part of,” Crusaders coach Cody Hougen told the Star. "We had a decent lead with about two minutes left in the game. Then F.H. made a strong run that made it a one-point game in the final 14 seconds.”
Hougen's squad fought through the pressure to convert two final free throws and held off a final Warriors push to claim gold.
"I was extremely proud of the guys for holding off for the win after completely losing the momentum in the final minutes,” Hougen said.
"We had an unbelievable season, going undefeated in the Yukon. We really grew as a team as the season went on.”
Siosan and Josh Tobias battled through injuries to play in the fast-paced final.
While Carino took home MVP honours, first all-stars included Hermosa, Valdez, Siosan, Noah Kitchen (Vanier) and Zach Giczi (Vanier B).
The senior women's final saw F.H. Collins jump out to a commanding lead over the Crusaders.
"We were able to sustain and increase our lead through tenacious defence and a strong fast break,” said Warriors coach Tyler Bradford.
The Warriors were led by the scoring trifecta of Nguyan, Galina Roots (16 points) and Jacy Sam (15 points). Sam was named tournament MVP.
Amy Hamon-Beattie had 11 points to lead Vanier, while Kelly Mahoney chipped in 10 in the loss.
All-stars included Mahoney, Nguyan, Kennedy Cairns-Locke (Porter Creek), Roots, and Linsey Eby (Vanier).
In the junior boys tournament, Vanier's Lorem Lumanog was named MVP, after draining 20 of his team's 43 points in the championship final.
Roswell Karpina (Vanier), Jared Leary (Mayo), JR Smallwood (Porter Creek), Anshil Kumar (F.H. Collins) and Zack Unrau (Porter Creek) were named all-stars.
Meanwhile, F.H. Collins students dominated the all-star roster in the junior girls tournament.
Warriors star Jayden Demchuk was named MVP after leading the white squad to victory with 10 points.
All-stars included Jetta Bilsky (Vanier), Dannica Nelson (F.H. Collins), Indica Stewart (Porter Creek), Sarah Diment (F.H. Collins), and Jen Mendelson (F.H. Collins).
Mendelson led the Warriors black squad with six points in the final.
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